Cooke & Bieler LP Grows Stock Holdings in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Cooke & Bieler LP raised its position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 955,548 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 56,382 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP owned 0.71% of Commerce Bancshares worth $59,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CBSH. Norges Bank bought a new position in Commerce Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at about $86,327,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,675,031 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $228,991,000 after acquiring an additional 745,661 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,225,491 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $824,080,000 after acquiring an additional 642,401 shares during the period. Aristotle Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 8,566,476 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $533,777,000 after acquiring an additional 351,406 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,286,483 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $80,161,000 after purchasing an additional 310,443 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commerce Bancshares

In related news, Director June Mcallister Fowler sold 1,618 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.72, for a total value of $98,244.96. Following the sale, the director owned 3,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $192,786. This trade represents a 33.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ CBSH traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $64.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,375,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 623,491. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.59. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.69 and a 52 week high of $72.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.87.

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

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Commerce Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on CBSH. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 price target (up previously from $66.50) on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $66.80.

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.