Verition Fund Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,641 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $513,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 51.1% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 48.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 882 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 2,864.7% in the 2nd quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,008 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 974 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CBSH. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $66.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler set a $68.50 price target on Commerce Bancshares and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Commerce Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.07.

Insider Transactions at Commerce Bancshares

In related news, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.23, for a total transaction of $124,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,454,999.63. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas D. Neff sold 888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total value of $64,024.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $579,539.80. This trade represents a 9.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,816 shares of company stock worth $2,454,586. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Commerce Bancshares Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:CBSH traded down $0.67 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $67.66. 364,464 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 554,705. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.77. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $47.09 and a one year high of $72.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.70.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $421.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.85 million. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 24.15%. Equities research analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Commerce Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.13%.

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.