Symmetry Partners LLC Invests $213,000 in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Symmetry Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH – Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 3,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 303,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,664,000 after acquiring an additional 14,574 shares in the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $425,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $1,058,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 1.0% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 52,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,444,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 92.6% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 28,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,889,000 after acquiring an additional 13,722 shares in the last quarter. 64.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $70.48 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 14th.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Commerce Bancshares stock opened at $58.14 on Friday. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.83 and a fifty-two week high of $72.60. The stock has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.15.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $391.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $395.61 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 31.60% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 7th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. This is a boost from Commerce Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 6th. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commerce Bancshares

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

Commerce Bancshares Profile

(Get Rating)

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.