Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Piper Sandler Analyst Says

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) had its target price boosted by Piper Sandler from $65.00 to $66.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Commerce Bancshares from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James downgraded Commerce Bancshares from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com lowered Commerce Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $74.00 to $70.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Commerce Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.20.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Commerce Bancshares stock traded up $1.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $60.09. 512,889 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 588,171. The firm has a market cap of $8.06 billion, a PE ratio of 14.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.71. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $61.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.19. Commerce Bancshares has a twelve month low of $49.97 and a twelve month high of $72.75.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.05. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 25.24% and a return on equity of 16.31%. The business had revenue of $428.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $417.85 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.94 EPS for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is a boost from Commerce Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Commerce Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $181,502.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,643,061.84. This trade represents a 6.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John W. Kemper sold 26,042 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.28, for a total transaction of $1,752,105.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,258,583.12. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 78,434 shares of company stock valued at $5,248,272 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Advisor Resource Council bought a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at about $316,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 2.4% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 14,299 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $889,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Cushing Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Commerce Bancshares in the first quarter worth approximately $937,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 4.6% in the first quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 55,018 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,424,000 after purchasing an additional 2,406 shares during the period. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 4,708 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.