Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,690,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,098,142 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Commerce Bancshares worth $768,877,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mattern Capital Management LLC grew its position in Commerce Bancshares by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 161,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,443,000 after purchasing an additional 20,277 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 72,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,783,000 after buying an additional 1,725 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 2,084,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,109,000 after buying an additional 181,266 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on CBSH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a report on Friday, March 27th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $58.50 target price (up from $56.00) on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.16.

Insider Activity at Commerce Bancshares

In related news, SVP Derrick Brooks sold 1,044 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.40, for a total transaction of $56,793.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,585 shares in the company, valued at $793,424. This represents a 6.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kim L. Jakovich sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total transaction of $48,826.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $655,524.45. This trade represents a 6.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 29,477 shares of company stock valued at $1,586,655 over the last quarter. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

CBSH opened at $52.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $50.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.69. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.99 and a twelve month high of $63.19.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $475.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $481.94 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 26.37% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 26.38%.

Commerce Bancshares Company Profile

Commerce Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company primarily engaged in providing a broad range of banking and financial services across the Midwest. Through its principal subsidiary, Commerce Bank, the company offers commercial and consumer banking, treasury management, trust and wealth advisory, and mortgage lending. Its diversified product suite includes deposit and loan products, cash management solutions, capital markets services, and private banking designed to meet the needs of individuals, small businesses, and large corporations.

The company’s commercial banking group delivers tailored credit facilities, equipment and inventory financing, asset-based lending, and merchant services.