Forum Financial Management LP Purchases New Position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Forum Financial Management LP bought a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,539 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CBSH. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,327,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,675,031 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $228,991,000 after acquiring an additional 745,661 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 worth $824,080,000 after acquiring an additional 642,401 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,468,854 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $91,524,000 after purchasing an additional 219,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,594,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $99,364,000 after purchasing an additional 182,423 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CBSH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $74.00 to $70.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Commerce Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.20.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of Commerce Bancshares stock traded down $0.81 during trading on Friday, reaching $60.56. 449,090 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 590,553. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.97 and a 1-year high of $72.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.71.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.05. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 25.24% and a return on equity of 16.31%. The firm had revenue of $428.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $417.85 million. Equities research analysts expect that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Commerce Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman David W. Kemper sold 3,708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.16, for a total transaction of $245,321.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,208,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,941,855.76. This represents a 0.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John K. Handy sold 2,722 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total transaction of $181,502.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,643,061.84. The trade was a 6.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 53,564 shares of company stock worth $3,605,360 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

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.