HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 32.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 32,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,564 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $1,710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CBSH. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 85.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 865,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,780,000 after acquiring an additional 16,610 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 10,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $376,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 208,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,941,000 after acquiring an additional 9,483 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Commerce Bancshares

In related news, Director Timothy S. Dunn acquired 2,500 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $47.71 per share, for a total transaction of $119,275.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $257,777.13. This trade represents a 86.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Kim L. Jakovich sold 949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total value of $48,826.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $655,524.45. This represents a 6.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CBSH. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Commerce Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $54.00 target price (up from $53.00) on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Commerce Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.30.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:CBSH opened at $52.02 on Wednesday. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.99 and a 12-month high of $63.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.78.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.02. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.78% and a net margin of 26.37%.The business had revenue of $475.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $481.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 26.38%.

About Commerce Bancshares

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.