Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.06 EPS

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $397.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $389.49 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 24.41% and a return on equity of 17.46%. Commerce Bancshares's revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 EPS.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ CBSH traded up $0.78 on Tuesday, hitting $52.01. The stock had a trading volume of 873,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 484,614. Commerce Bancshares has a 52-week low of $40.91 and a 52-week high of $56.75. The company has a market capitalization of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.92 and a 200-day moving average of $50.90.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Commerce Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented 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 research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Robert S. Holmes sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,648,429.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Robert S. Holmes sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,648,429.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John K. Handy sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.79, for a total transaction of $82,623.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,549,049.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,321 shares of company stock worth $752,387 in the last three months. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Commerce Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CBSH. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 58,372 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,179,000 after buying an additional 4,611 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 27.2% in 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 lifted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 7.7% in 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 lifted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 1.2% in 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 own 70.26% 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.