Zacks Investment Management Lowers Position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Zacks Investment Management cut its position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) by 73.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,257 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 75,217 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $1,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CBSH. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,327,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Commerce Bancshares by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,675,031 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $228,991,000 after buying an additional 745,661 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,225,491 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $824,080,000 after purchasing an additional 642,401 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,468,854 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $91,524,000 after acquiring an additional 219,826 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,594,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $99,364,000 after purchasing an additional 182,423 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John K. Handy sold 2,722 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total value of $181,502.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,638 shares in the company, valued at $2,643,061.84. This trade represents a 6.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David L. Orf sold 1,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.24, for a total value of $70,696.64. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,513,222. This trade represents a 4.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 78,434 shares of company stock worth $5,248,272. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CBSH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $74.00 to $70.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Commerce Bancshares from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $63.20.

Commerce Bancshares Trading Up 1.3 %

CBSH stock traded up $0.77 during trading on Thursday, hitting $61.15. The company had a trading volume of 122,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 626,958. The stock has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.15 and a 200-day moving average of $64.14. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $49.97 and a one year high of $72.75.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.05. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 25.24% and a return on equity of 16.31%. The business had revenue of $428.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $417.85 million. Research analysts forecast that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.94 EPS for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. This is a boost from Commerce Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Commerce Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.63%.

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.