CENTRAL TRUST Co Purchases 17,845 Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) by 51.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,612 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,845 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co's holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $3,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $566,000. Procyon Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $581,000. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,336,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 19.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 106,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,353,000 after purchasing an additional 17,400 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commerce Bancshares

In other news, SVP David L. Roller sold 890 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $64,320.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,949 shares in the company, valued at $2,236,684.23. This represents a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman David W. Kemper sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.22, for a total transaction of $311,490.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 23,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,642,244.50. This trade represents a 15.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,698 shares of company stock worth $2,721,001. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CBSH. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James lowered shares of Commerce Bancshares from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Commerce Bancshares presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $67.83.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of CBSH stock traded up $1.58 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $67.45. 474,710 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 550,560. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $65.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.10. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.09 and a 1-year high of $72.75.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $422.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $417.48 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 25.24% and a return on equity of 16.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. Research analysts expect that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Commerce Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Commerce Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.93%.

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.