Cerity Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) by 40.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 74,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,664 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.06% of Commerce Bancshares worth $4,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 7.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,509,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $195,776,000 after purchasing an additional 240,938 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,069,924 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $115,453,000 after acquiring an additional 342,793 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,260,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $70,339,000 after acquiring an additional 168,550 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 0.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 624,715 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,846,000 after acquiring an additional 3,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 2.5% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 567,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,653,000 after purchasing an additional 13,772 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of CBSH traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $73.75. 256,836 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 532,252. The stock has a market cap of $9.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $64.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.79. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.28 and a 1 year high of $76.39.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $421.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $412.85 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 24.15% and a return on equity of 15.93%. On average, analysts forecast that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Commerce Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 28.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman David W. Kemper sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.78, for a total value of $1,853,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,151,994 shares in the company, valued at $71,170,189.32. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John K. Handy sold 1,331 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total value of $84,917.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 41,548 shares in the company, valued at $2,650,762.40. This trade represents a 3.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,109 shares of company stock valued at $2,191,123. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CBSH. 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. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Commerce Bancshares from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $64.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.79.

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.