Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 1,098,142 Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH

Key Points

• Vanguard increased its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 8.1% in Q4, buying 1,098,142 shares to hold 14,690,039 shares (11.09%) valued at about $768.9 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — including CEO John Kemper and SVP David Roller — with a total of 29,477 shares sold (~$1.59 million) over the past 90 days, leaving insiders with about 1.8% ownership.
• Commerce declared a quarterly dividend of $0.275 (annualized $1.10, yield ~2.1%, ex-dividend June 5), while analysts on average rate the stock a Hold with a $59.16 average price target; the stock trades near $52 with a market cap of ~$7.64 billion.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,690,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,098,142 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.09% of Commerce Bancshares worth $768,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattern Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 161,306 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,443,000 after acquiring an additional 20,277 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 72,279 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,795 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 2,084,628 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $109,109,000 after acquiring an additional 181,266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Commerce Bancshares

In related news, SVP David L. Roller sold 2,092 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.32, for a total transaction of $111,545.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 28,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,542,707.56. This trade represents a 6.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John W. Kemper sold 23,397 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.99, for a total transaction of $1,263,204.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 206,528 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 29,477 shares of company stock worth $1,586,655 over the last 90 days. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Hovde Group dropped their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $54.00 target price (up from $53.00) on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Commerce Bancshares presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.16.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CBSH opened at $52.03 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $50.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.69. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.99 and a 12 month high of $63.19. The stock has a market cap of $7.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.61.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $481.94 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. 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.

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