Rafferty Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 34.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 84,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 45,169 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.06% of Commerce Bancshares worth $5,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 191.0% in the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth about $210,000. CW Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 12,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 3,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth about $59,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Commerce Bancshares Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Commerce Bancshares stock opened at $61.99 on Friday. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.69 and a 12-month high of $72.75. The company has a market cap of $8.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.23.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.12. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 26.37% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The firm had revenue of $445.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $434.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CBSH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $66.50 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Commerce Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.20.

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.