Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.28

Key Points

• Commerce Bancshares, Inc. declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28, which represents an annualized dividend of $1.10, yielding 1.78% for shareholders.
• The company reported a earnings per share of $1.14 for the latest quarter, surpassing expectations, with a net margin of 26.37% and revenue growth of 7.6% compared to last year.
• Commerce Bancshares' payout ratio is 26.2%, indicating strong earnings coverage for the dividend, with anticipated earnings of $4.18 per share next year.
• Institutional investors hold 70.26% of Commerce Bancshares' stock, reflecting significant interest from large financial entities in the company.

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, July 25th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.275 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, September 23rd. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%.

Commerce Bancshares has a payout ratio of 26.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Commerce Bancshares to earn $4.18 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.10 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.3%.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Up 0.3%

CBSH traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $61.97. 400,025 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 647,307. The company's 50-day moving average is $63.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.90. The company has a market cap of $8.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.59. Commerce Bancshares has a 12-month low of $52.69 and a 12-month high of $72.75.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.12. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 26.37%. The firm had revenue of $445.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $434.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.02 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commerce Bancshares

In other news, Director June Mcallister Fowler sold 1,618 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.72, for a total transaction of $98,244.96. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,175 shares in the company, valued at $192,786. This trade represents a 33.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Commerce Bancshares

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Commerce Bancshares stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) by 85.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 469 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 216 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $29,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CBSH. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $74.00 to $70.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Commerce Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America raised their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.20.

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.

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