Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 100.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,145 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $1,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CBSH. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 85.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 865,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,780,000 after purchasing an additional 16,610 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 10,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $376,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 208,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,941,000 after purchasing an additional 9,483 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on CBSH. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Hovde Group reduced their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $58.50 target price (up from $56.00) on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $54.00 target price (up from $53.00) on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.30.

Insider Transactions at Commerce Bancshares

In other news, SVP Margaret M. Rowe sold 861 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.69, for a total transaction of $44,505.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 5,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $296,803.98. This represents a 13.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy S. Dunn purchased 2,500 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $47.71 per share, for a total transaction of $119,275.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $257,777.13. This represents a 86.12% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of CBSH opened at $51.95 on Thursday. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.99 and a 1-year high of $63.19. The stock has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.78.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.02. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.78% and a net margin of 26.37%.The business had revenue of $475.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $481.94 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.38%.

Commerce Bancshares 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.