Commerce Bank Sells 2,315,839 Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Commerce Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) by 33.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,644,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,315,839 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bancshares accounts for approximately 1.8% of Commerce Bank's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Commerce Bank owned approximately 3.62% of Commerce Bancshares worth $289,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 11,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $689,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Canopy Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 3,609 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Apriem Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Apriem Advisors now owns 3,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,908 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verde Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Verde Capital Management now owns 3,573 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commerce Bancshares

In related news, CFO Charles G. Kim sold 13,493 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $914,285.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 86,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,844,028.96. This trade represents a 13.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP David L. Orf sold 1,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,513,222. This trade represents a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 78,434 shares of company stock valued at $5,248,272 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CBSH traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $60.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 176,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 587,093. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $61.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.71. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.97 and a fifty-two week high of $72.75.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $417.85 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.94 EPS for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Commerce Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. Commerce Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 26.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of 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. Piper Sandler lifted 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. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $74.00 to $70.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Commerce Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Commerce Bancshares 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.