Franklin Resources Inc. Has $901,000 Holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 167.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,507 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,704 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CFR. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter worth $107,166,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter worth about $54,012,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. bought a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the second quarter valued at about $37,813,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 117.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 568,730 shares of the bank’s stock worth $63,618,000 after buying an additional 307,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 234.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 436,393 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,814,000 after buying an additional 305,921 shares in the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

Shares of CFR stock opened at $135.24 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.99. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.09 and a 12-month high of $147.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $135.73 and a 200-day moving average of $118.33.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The bank reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $518.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $517.25 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 18.81%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.38 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s payout ratio is presently 47.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CFR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $123.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Maxim Group lifted their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $126.00 to $123.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $118.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Phillip D. Green sold 14,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.96, for a total value of $1,980,829.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 94,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,026,597.08. This trade represents a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Howard L. Kasanoff sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.34, for a total transaction of $553,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,888 shares in the company, valued at $399,525.92. This trade represents a 58.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,864 shares of company stock worth $2,977,033 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Profile

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Frost Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking services in Texas. The company offers commercial banking services to corporations, including financing for industrial and commercial properties, interim construction related to industrial and commercial properties, equipment, inventories and accounts receivables, and acquisitions; and treasury management services, as well as originates commercial leasing services.