First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 257,817 Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 11.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,610,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 257,817 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $128,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,690,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $768,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098,142 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,318,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $383,071,000 after buying an additional 566,853 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,660,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,287,000 after buying an additional 369,636 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Commerce Bancshares by 29.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,943,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,999,000 after acquiring an additional 894,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,780,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,097,000 after purchasing an additional 174,863 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CBSH opened at $58.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.99 and a 52 week high of $60.76. The firm has a market cap of $8.55 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $55.45 and its 200-day moving average is $52.99.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $498.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $492.22 million. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.31% and a net margin of 26.07%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CBSH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Stephens set a $64.00 target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $65.00 target price (up from $61.00) on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a report on Monday, June 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.43.

Commerce Bancshares Company 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.