AGF Management Ltd. Grows Holdings in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 35.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 71,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,745 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Commerce Bancshares worth $3,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 155,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,573,000 after purchasing an additional 18,816 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 11,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 2,284 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 69,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,029,000 after buying an additional 5,040 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 839,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,956,000 after buying an additional 9,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mattern Capital Management LLC raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 105,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,153,000 after buying an additional 10,779 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Commerce Bancshares

In related news, SVP Paula S. Petersen sold 2,068 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.61, for a total value of $96,389.48. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,397,554.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Blackford F. Brauer purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $49.14 per share, with a total value of $245,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 28,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,396,853.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paula S. Petersen sold 2,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.61, for a total transaction of $96,389.48. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,984 shares in the company, valued at $1,397,554.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on CBSH shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 27th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 20th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $51.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.60.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of CBSH opened at $49.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.76. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.96 and a 52-week high of $72.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $391.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.77 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 26.71% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 4th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 1st. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is 27.20%.

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.