Bank of America Corp DE Buys 398,670 Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Commerce Bancshares stake by 62.9% in the first quarter, acquiring 398,670 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 1.03 million shares valued at approximately $50.8 million.
• Institutional investors own 70.26% of Commerce Bancshares, with Vanguard, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Norges Bank and others also expanding or initiating positions.
• Commerce Bancshares exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.10 EPS versus the $1.04 consensus estimate, and declared a $0.275 quarterly dividend. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $63.29.

Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) by 62.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,032,011 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 398,670 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.71% of Commerce Bancshares worth $50,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at $85,282,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth about $58,830,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,690,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $768,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098,142 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 1,433.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,145,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,965,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 29.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,943,247 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $193,999,000 after purchasing an additional 894,183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Commerce Bancshares stock opened at $59.02 on Wednesday. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.99 and a fifty-two week high of $60.92. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $57.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $8.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.59.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $498.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $492.22 million. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.31% and a net margin of 26.07%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Commerce Bancshares's payout ratio is 26.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commerce Bancshares

In related news, CEO John W. Kemper sold 5,830 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.58, for a total transaction of $353,181.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 206,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,511,466.24. The trade was a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Derrick Brooks sold 1,041 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total transaction of $62,074.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $782,166.71. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 31,842 shares of company stock valued at $1,897,310 over the last 90 days. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CBSH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Hovde Group cut their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Commerce Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $63.00 price target (up from $62.00) on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Commerce Bancshares presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.29.

About Commerce Bancshares

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.

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