Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Sells 234,543 Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership reduced its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) by 38.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 373,656 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 234,543 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.29% of Commerce Bancshares worth $23,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CBSH. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 281,040 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,512,000 after buying an additional 9,362 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $566,000. Procyon Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $200,000. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Commerce Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,336,000. Finally, Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $581,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CBSH. Morgan Stanley raised shares of 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 research report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded Commerce Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James downgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.83.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Commerce Bancshares stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 737,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 580,812. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $63.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.23. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.49 and a 12-month high of $72.75. The company has a market capitalization of $7.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.86, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.71.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $422.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $417.48 million. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 25.24%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Commerce Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Commerce Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.43%.

Insider Transactions at Commerce Bancshares

In related news, CFO Charles G. Kim sold 13,493 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $914,285.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 86,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,844,028.96. This represents a 13.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 1,719 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.30, for a total transaction of $115,688.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,688 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,257,702.40. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 78,434 shares of company stock valued at $5,248,272. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Commerce Bancshares 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.