Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 32.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,564 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $1,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CBSH. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 85.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 865,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,780,000 after purchasing an additional 16,610 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 10,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $376,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 208,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,941,000 after purchasing an additional 9,483 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CBSH opened at $52.02 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.60. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $46.99 and a one year high of $63.19. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.78.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $475.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $481.94 million. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.78% and a net margin of 26.37%.The company’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. Analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.38%.

Insider Activity at Commerce Bancshares

In other Commerce Bancshares news, Director Timothy S. Dunn acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $47.71 per share, for a total transaction of $119,275.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $257,777.13. This trade represents a 86.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Margaret M. Rowe sold 861 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.69, for a total value of $44,505.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 5,742 shares in the company, valued at $296,803.98. This represents a 13.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Hovde Group reduced their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective (up from $53.00) on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $58.50 price objective (up from $56.00) on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.30.

About Commerce Bancshares

Commerce Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company primarily engaged in providing a broad range of banking and financial services across the Midwest. Through its principal subsidiary, Commerce Bank, the company offers commercial and consumer banking, treasury management, trust and wealth advisory, and mortgage lending. Its diversified product suite includes deposit and loan products, cash management solutions, capital markets services, and private banking designed to meet the needs of individuals, small businesses, and large corporations.

The company’s commercial banking group delivers tailored credit facilities, equipment and inventory financing, asset-based lending, and merchant services.