Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH Shares Acquired by Vest Financial LLC

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 65.3% in Q4 to 102,751 shares (about $5.38M), and institutional investors now own roughly 70.26% of the company.
• Commerce reported quarterly EPS of $0.96 (beating the $0.94 estimate) while revenue of $475.7M slightly missed expectations, and it declared a quarterly dividend of $0.275 (annualized $1.10, ~2.1% yield) payable June 23.
• Analysts carry a consensus "Hold" rating with an average price target of $59.16, and the stock trades at about a 12.5 P/E with a market cap near $7.6B.

Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) by 65.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 102,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 40,597 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Commerce Bancshares worth $5,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CBSH. Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 85.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 3,820.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 588 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Commerce Bancshares from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $58.50 price target (up from $56.00) on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group lowered their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.16.

Insider Activity

In other Commerce Bancshares news, SVP Derrick Brooks sold 1,044 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.40, for a total value of $56,793.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at $793,424. The trade was a 6.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy S. Dunn purchased 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $47.71 per share, with a total value of $119,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $257,777.13. This trade represents a 86.12% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,477 shares of company stock valued at $1,586,655. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

CBSH opened at $51.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.71. The company has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.60. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.99 and a fifty-two week high of $63.19.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.02. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 26.37% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The firm had revenue of $475.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $481.94 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Commerce Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.38%.

Commerce Bancshares Profile

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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