Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 71,927 Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. $CFR

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 9.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 701,963 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 71,927 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.09% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $88,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CFR. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 20.2% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 915 shares of the bank’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the bank’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,072 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,291,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.9% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 189,200 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,985,000 after purchasing an additional 59,501 shares during the period. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter valued at approximately $799,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

NYSE CFR opened at $139.24 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $131.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.41. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.31 and a 52-week high of $145.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.09. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CFR. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $136.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen restated a “positive” rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Monday. Loop Capital set a $160.00 price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cullen/Frost Bankers presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Bobby Berman sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.07, for a total value of $137,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,610.42. This represents a 3.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Coolidge E. Rhodes, Jr. sold 700 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.00, for a total transaction of $88,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $481,965. This trade represents a 15.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 1,700 shares of company stock valued at $225,970 over the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Cullen/Frost Bankers

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc is the holding company for Frost Bank, a Texas-chartered financial institution whose origins date back to 1868 in San Antonio. As one of the oldest banking organizations in the state, it offers a broad range of services to individuals, small and large businesses, and institutional clients. Core banking activities include commercial lending, deposit services, cash management and trade finance, while consumer products cover residential mortgages, personal lines of credit and home equity loans.

Beyond traditional banking, the company provides comprehensive treasury and equipment leasing solutions tailored to support working capital and capital expenditure requirements.