Vest Financial LLC Buys 40,597 Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH

Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 65.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 102,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 40,597 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $5,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CBSH. Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 85.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 3,820.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $58.50 price target (up from $56.00) on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Hovde Group lowered their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $54.00 target price (up from $53.00) on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Commerce Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Commerce Bancshares has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.16.

Commerce Bancshares Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of CBSH stock opened at $51.93 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $50.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.71. The stock has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.60. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.99 and a 12 month high of $63.19.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $475.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $481.94 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 26.37% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 26.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Commerce Bancshares news, CEO John W. Kemper sold 23,397 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.99, for a total value of $1,263,204.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 206,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,150,446.72. This trade represents a 10.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Derrick Brooks sold 1,044 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.40, for a total value of $56,793.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $793,424. This represents a 6.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 29,477 shares of company stock worth $1,586,655 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Profile

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.