KBC Group NV Trims Stock Holdings in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH

KBC Group NV lessened its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 42.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,358 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 191.0% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 85.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth $59,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CBSH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Commerce Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $63.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.29.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CBSH opened at $52.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.62. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.12 and a 1 year high of $72.75.

Commerce Bancshares shares are set to split before the market opens on Tuesday, December 2nd. The 1.05-1 split was recently announced. The newly created shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, December 1st.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.03). Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 26.48% and a return on equity of 15.73%. The business had revenue of $448.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.04 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 2nd. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

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.