Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Invests $9.86 Million in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 158,215 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,858,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.12% of Commerce Bancshares as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 84.0% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 791 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 839 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Commerce Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CBSH traded up $1.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $63.02. 328,996 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 590,339. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $49.97 and a one year high of $72.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $60.62 and a 200 day moving average of $64.26. The company has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.71.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.05. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 25.24% and a return on equity of 16.31%. The business had revenue of $428.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $417.85 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Commerce Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CBSH. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com cut Commerce Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Commerce Bancshares from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $66.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $74.00 to $70.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commerce Bancshares

In other Commerce Bancshares news, Chairman David W. Kemper sold 3,708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.16, for a total value of $245,321.28. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,208,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $79,941,855.76. This represents a 0.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP David L. Orf sold 1,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.24, for a total value of $70,696.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,175 shares in the company, valued at $1,513,222. The trade was a 4.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,842 shares of company stock worth $3,423,857. Insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Commerce Bancshares Company Profile

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.