New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 186,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,720 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.14% of Commerce Bancshares worth $9,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Adirondack Trust Co. purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

CBSH stock opened at $55.76 on Thursday. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $40.91 and a one year high of $56.75. The firm has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a PE ratio of 15.53 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $52.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.41.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $397.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $389.49 million. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 23.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commerce Bancshares

In related news, SVP David L. Roller sold 1,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.62, for a total transaction of $70,463.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,566,638.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Robert S. Holmes sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.66, for a total transaction of $263,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,648,429.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP David L. Roller sold 1,392 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.62, for a total value of $70,463.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,566,638.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,876 shares of company stock worth $510,441 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CBSH. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Raymond James raised Commerce Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.00.

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.