Aquatic Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) by 73.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,640 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,460 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CBSH. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 84.0% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 791 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director June Mcallister Fowler sold 1,618 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.72, for a total transaction of $98,244.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $192,786. This represents a 33.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John W. Kemper sold 26,042 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.28, for a total value of $1,752,105.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,929 shares in the company, valued at $14,258,583.12. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,752 shares of company stock worth $3,276,781 in the last ninety days. 3.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Commerce Bancshares Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Commerce Bancshares stock traded down $0.35 on Monday, hitting $62.67. 293,030 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 589,150. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.97 and a 12-month high of $72.75. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $60.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.29. The company has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Commerce Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.