Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) Stock Price

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) had its price target cut by Morgan Stanley from $72.00 to $66.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on CBSH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Raymond James lowered Commerce Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.17.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CBSH opened at $60.71 on Thursday. Commerce Bancshares has a 52-week low of $47.89 and a 52-week high of $72.75. The firm has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average is $64.49 and its 200 day moving average is $64.49.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $422.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $417.48 million. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 25.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Commerce Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.43%.

Insider Activity at Commerce Bancshares

In other Commerce Bancshares news, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.69, for a total value of $67,690.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,439,427.85. This trade represents a 4.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John W. Kemper sold 26,042 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.28, for a total value of $1,752,105.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,929 shares of the company’s stock, 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 81,016 shares of company stock worth $5,422,811 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Commerce Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CBSH. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 281,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,512,000 after acquiring an additional 9,362 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $566,000. Procyon Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,336,000. Finally, Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $581,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

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.