Cooke & Bieler LP Boosts Stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Cooke & Bieler LP raised its position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) by 32.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 972,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 237,703 shares during the quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP owned 0.75% of Commerce Bancshares worth $51,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CBSH. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 130,936 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,282,000 after purchasing an additional 18,535 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 417,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,011,000 after purchasing an additional 15,508 shares in the last quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning acquired a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $526,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 147,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,089,000 after purchasing an additional 14,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 110,881 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,322,000 after purchasing an additional 20,737 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Commerce Bancshares

In other news, Director Benjamin F. Rassieur III sold 1,785 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.83, for a total transaction of $96,086.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,567 shares in the company, valued at $1,806,911.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related 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 stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,806,911.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 stock was sold at an average price of $52.66, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,321 shares of company stock worth $752,387 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CBSH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James upgraded Commerce Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $61.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America initiated coverage on Commerce Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Commerce Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.00.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Up 1.4 %

Commerce Bancshares stock traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $53.85. The stock had a trading volume of 772,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 487,233. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $40.91 and a one year high of $56.75. The stock has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 0.79. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $52.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.05.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 23.33%. The company had revenue of $397.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $389.49 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Commerce Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.12%.

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.