Pacer Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 68.6% in the first quarter, now holding 5,740 shares worth $357,000 after selling 12,523 shares.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Commerce Bancshares, with target prices ranging from $66.50 to $71.00, and an average rating of "Hold" based on seven reports.
• Commerce Bancshares announced a quarterly dividend of $0.275, payable on September 23rd, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.8% with a payout ratio of 26.19%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) by 68.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,740 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,523 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $357,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at $1,855,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $842,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Commerce Bancshares by 64.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. Novem Group grew its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 35.3% during the first quarter. Novem Group now owns 16,663 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 4,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Resource Council purchased a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the first quarter worth about $316,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on CBSH. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Commerce Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $68.20.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ CBSH traded up $0.89 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $60.81. 601,891 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 884,385. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.69 and a 52-week high of $72.75. The firm has a market cap of $8.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.83.

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

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Commerce Bancshares's payout ratio is currently 26.19%.

Commerce Bancshares 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.