Forum Financial Management LP Makes New Investment in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CBSH. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 95,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,961,000 after acquiring an additional 4,553 shares during the period. Farringdon Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $322,000. MSH Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at $1,007,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,101,000 after buying an additional 6,373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth $611,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Commerce Bancshares

In other Commerce Bancshares news, VP David L. Orf sold 1,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.24, for a total value of $70,696.64. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,513,222. This trade represents a 4.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John W. Kemper sold 26,042 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.28, for a total transaction of $1,752,105.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,258,583.12. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 78,434 shares of company stock valued at $5,248,272 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CBSH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $74.00 to $70.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of 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. StockNews.com cut Commerce Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Commerce Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.20.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

CBSH opened at $58.73 on Tuesday. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.97 and a 1-year high of $72.75. The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.38 and a 200-day moving average of $64.19. The company has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Commerce Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Commerce Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is 26.63%.

Commerce Bancshares Company Profile

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.