Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.27

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 17th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.27 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%.

Commerce Bancshares has increased its dividend by an average of 3.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 56 years. Commerce Bancshares has a payout ratio of 32.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Commerce Bancshares to earn $3.34 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.3%.

Commerce Bancshares Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of CBSH stock traded up $1.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $53.07. 810,414 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 489,016. The stock's 50 day moving average is $51.97 and its 200-day moving average is $50.92. The company has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 0.79. Commerce Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $40.91 and a fifty-two week high of $56.75.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 17.46% and a net margin of 24.41%. The firm had revenue of $397.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $389.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Commerce Bancshares

In other news, EVP Robert S. Holmes sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.66, for a total transaction of $263,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,648,429.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Benjamin F. Rassieur III sold 1,785 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.83, for a total transaction of $96,086.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 33,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,806,911.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Robert S. Holmes sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.66, for a total transaction of $263,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,648,429.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,321 shares of company stock valued at $752,387 in the last ninety days. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Commerce Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CBSH. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 58,372 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,179,000 after purchasing an additional 4,611 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 27.2% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 25,339 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,814,000 after purchasing an additional 5,417 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 59,984 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,414,000 after purchasing an additional 4,310 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,110,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $79,527,000 after purchasing an additional 12,655 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CBSH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $61.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Commerce Bancshares currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.00.

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.