Analysts Set Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) Price Target at $53.17

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the five analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $53.17.

CBSH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Commerce Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CBSH traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $51.41. 320,666 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 493,822. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $51.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.85. Commerce Bancshares has a 52 week low of $40.91 and a 52 week high of $56.75. The company has a market cap of $6.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16 and a beta of 0.79.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $393.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $386.34 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 24.41% and a return on equity of 17.46%. Commerce Bancshares's revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Commerce Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.75%.

Insider Activity at Commerce Bancshares

In other Commerce Bancshares news, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 730 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.87, for a total value of $40,055.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,399,294.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Commerce Bancshares news, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 730 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.87, for a total value of $40,055.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,399,294.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert S. Holmes sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.66, for a total value of $263,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,648,429.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,321 shares of company stock valued at $752,387. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.