Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $65.07.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut Commerce Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $66.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com raised Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $68.50 price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

CBSH stock opened at $63.59 on Friday. Commerce Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $47.09 and a fifty-two week high of $72.75. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.38. The company has a market cap of $8.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.77.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.07. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 24.15% and a return on equity of 15.93%. The business had revenue of $421.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.85 million. Equities analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is 28.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kevin G. Barth sold 1,582 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.54, for a total value of $106,848.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,417,723.86. The trade was a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.69, for a total transaction of $67,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,439,427.85. This trade represents a 4.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,398 shares of company stock valued at $2,504,665 over the last ninety days. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Commerce Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 7,407.2% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 362,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,556,000 after buying an additional 358,066 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,069,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,453,000 after purchasing an additional 342,793 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,509,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,776,000 after purchasing an additional 240,938 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 168.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 342,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,081,000 after purchasing an additional 214,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,396,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,951,000 after purchasing an additional 163,782 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

About Commerce Bancshares

Commerce Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Commerce Bank that provides retail, mortgage banking, corporate, investment, trust, and asset management products and services to individuals and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Consumer, Commercial, and Wealth.