Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp cut its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 75.8% in Q4, selling 26,031 shares and leaving 8,309 shares worth about $435,000, while institutional investors still own roughly 70.3% of the stock.
• Wall Street sentiment is largely cautious with an average "Hold" rating and a $59.16 target, after recent price-target cuts from Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo (KBW is an exception with a slight raise to $56).
• Notable insider moves include the CEO selling 23,397 shares at $53.99 (~$1.26M) while a director purchased 2,500 shares at $47.71, and insiders have sold 29,477 shares in the past 90 days (insider ownership ~1.8%).

M&T Bank Corp lessened its stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) by 75.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,309 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 26,031 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CBSH. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 82.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,245,068 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $74,368,000 after acquiring an additional 561,331 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 5,922.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 501,859 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,991,000 after purchasing an additional 493,526 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 56.7% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,313,453 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,492,000 after purchasing an additional 475,331 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 1,621.8% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 345,988 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,676,000 after purchasing an additional 325,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 5.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,752,045 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $403,502,000 after purchasing an additional 319,137 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CBSH has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research raised Commerce Bancshares from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Commerce Bancshares presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $59.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commerce Bancshares

In other news, Director Timothy S. Dunn purchased 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $47.71 per share, with a total value of $119,275.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 5,403 shares in the company, valued at $257,777.13. This trade represents a 86.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John W. Kemper sold 23,397 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.99, for a total value of $1,263,204.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 206,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,150,446.72. This trade represents a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,477 shares of company stock valued at $1,586,655. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CBSH opened at $52.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.61. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $50.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.69. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $475.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $481.94 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 26.37% and a return on equity of 14.78%. Commerce Bancshares's revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

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

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CBSH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.