Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.00.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CBSH shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd.

Insider Activity at Commerce Bancshares

In other Commerce Bancshares news, Director Jonathan M. Kemper sold 19,626 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total transaction of $1,249,391.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 997,112 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $63,476,149.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP David L. Orf sold 2,102 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.83, for a total transaction of $136,272.66. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,240,846.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jonathan M. Kemper sold 19,626 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total transaction of $1,249,391.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 997,112 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $63,476,149.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,612 shares of company stock worth $3,060,149 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Commerce Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CBSH. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,631,645 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $672,004,000 after purchasing an additional 259,127 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 7,222,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $385,771,000 after buying an additional 196,431 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,509,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $195,776,000 after buying an additional 240,938 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,345,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $125,260,000 after acquiring an additional 155,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 valued at $115,453,000 after acquiring an additional 342,793 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Commerce Bancshares Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ CBSH traded down $0.63 on Wednesday, hitting $60.66. 519,150 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 514,449. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $61.47 and a 200-day moving average of $56.53. The stock has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.75. Commerce Bancshares has a 52 week low of $40.91 and a 52 week high of $65.86.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.17. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 23.62%. The business had revenue of $414.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. Commerce Bancshares's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Commerce Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.08%.

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.