Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) Shares Up 2.7% on Strong Earnings

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) shares shot up 2.7% during trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $52.62 and last traded at $52.59. 132,033 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 473,841 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.23.

The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $397.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $389.49 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 24.41% and a return on equity of 17.46%. Commerce Bancshares’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is 29.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Robert S. Holmes sold 5,000 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.66, for a total transaction of $263,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,648,429.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP John K. Handy sold 1,508 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.79, for a total transaction of $82,623.32. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,524 shares in the company, valued at $2,549,049.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Robert S. Holmes sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.66, for a total transaction of $263,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,648,429.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,321 shares of company stock valued at $752,387. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fulton Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the first quarter valued at $270,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 193,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,341,000 after purchasing an additional 7,740 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,372,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $660,816,000 after purchasing an additional 558,017 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,984 shares during the period. Finally, Thomas Story & Son LLC raised its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Thomas Story & Son LLC now owns 6,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Trading Up 2.5 %

The company has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a fifty day moving average of $51.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.87.

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.