Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 45,169 Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 34.9% in the first quarter, selling 45,169 shares.
• Commerce Bancshares announced a quarterly dividend of $0.275, representing a 1.8% dividend yield, to be paid on September 23rd.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report exceeded expectations, with $1.14 earnings per share compared to the estimated $1.02.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) by 34.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 84,394 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 45,169 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.06% of Commerce Bancshares worth $5,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,493,741 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $839,716,000 after buying an additional 268,250 shares during the last quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 8,566,476 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $533,777,000 after acquiring an additional 351,406 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 4.4% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,836,113 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $238,721,000 after acquiring an additional 161,082 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 2.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,321,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $144,479,000 after acquiring an additional 49,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,286,483 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $80,161,000 after acquiring an additional 310,443 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CBSH shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $66.50 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Commerce Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.20.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CBSH traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $61.94. 668,412 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 698,515. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.61. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $62.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.14. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.69 and a 52 week high of $72.75.

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

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

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

Commerce Bancshares Company 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.