Rafferty Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 129,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,038 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Commerce Bancshares worth $8,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 11,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Canopy Partners LLC raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 3,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Apriem Advisors raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Apriem Advisors now owns 3,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Verde Capital Management raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Verde Capital Management now owns 3,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Commerce Bancshares stock opened at $65.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.60. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.97 and a fifty-two week high of $72.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.42.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $428.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $417.85 million. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 25.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $74.00 to $70.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Commerce Bancshares from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commerce Bancshares

In related news, Director June Mcallister Fowler sold 1,618 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.72, for a total transaction of $98,244.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $192,786. This trade represents a 33.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.