Fisher Asset Management LLC Buys 70,531 Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH

Key Points

• Fisher Asset Management increased its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 28% in the fourth quarter, buying 70,531 more shares and bringing its total holding to 322,335 shares worth about $16.9 million.
• Insider trading was mixed: SVP Margaret M. Rowe sold 861 shares, while Director Timothy S. Dunn bought 2,500 shares, indicating both selling and buying activity within the company.
• Commerce Bancshares reported solid quarterly results and pays a dividend, with Q1 EPS of $0.96 beating estimates and a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, yielding about 2.1% annually.

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) by 28.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 322,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 70,531 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 0.24% of Commerce Bancshares worth $16,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new position in Commerce Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 85.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC increased its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 3,820.0% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 588 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Commerce Bancshares

In related news, SVP Margaret M. Rowe sold 861 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.69, for a total transaction of $44,505.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 5,742 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $296,803.98. This represents a 13.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Timothy S. Dunn purchased 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $47.71 per share, with a total value of $119,275.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 5,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $257,777.13. The trade was a 86.12% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Hovde Group reduced their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Commerce Bancshares has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $59.30.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CBSH opened at $51.95 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $50.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.78. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.99 and a fifty-two week high of $63.19. The firm has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.61.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $481.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Commerce Bancshares's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Commerce Bancshares's payout ratio is 26.38%.

Commerce Bancshares Company 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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