Waterford Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 44,863 Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH

Waterford Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 44,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,577,000. Commerce Bancshares comprises approximately 1.0% of Waterford Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CBSH. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 404,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,157,000 after acquiring an additional 43,608 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 34,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,787,000 after purchasing an additional 8,178 shares during the period. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. increased its position in Commerce Bancshares by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 16,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

CBSH opened at $54.76 on Friday. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.99 and a 1 year high of $63.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $52.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.07. The company has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CBSH shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set 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 dropped their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Hovde Group cut their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Commerce Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Commerce Bancshares has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.30.

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.