Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH – Get Rating) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $70.48 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 6th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 16th.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

CBSH opened at $59.86 on Tuesday. Commerce Bancshares has a 52-week low of $55.83 and a 52-week high of $72.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.47 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.43.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 31.60%. The business had revenue of $391.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. Commerce Bancshares’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John W. Kemper sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.65, for a total value of $297,660.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 187,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,696,349.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total value of $57,787.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $615,589.29. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John W. Kemper sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.65, for a total value of $297,660.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 187,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,696,349.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,551 shares of company stock valued at $3,076,855. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Commerce Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CBSH. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Commerce Bancshares by 102,920.9% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 133,790,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,107,097,000 after buying an additional 133,660,305 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Commerce Bancshares by 192.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,995,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,810,000 after buying an additional 1,313,291 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $77,332,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Commerce Bancshares by 8.9% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,656,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $476,554,000 after buying an additional 544,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Commerce Bancshares by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,423,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,915,000 after buying an additional 527,764 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.12% of the company’s stock.

About Commerce Bancshares

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Commerce Bancshares, Inc operates as a bank holding company for Commerce Bank. It provides general banking services, such as retail, corporate, investment, trust, and asset management products and services to individuals and businesses. The firm operates through the following business segments: Consumer, Commercial and Wealth.