Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) Stock Price

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) had its price objective reduced by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $67.00 to $65.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 25.94% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler set a $62.00 target price on Commerce Bancshares and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Commerce Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Commerce Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.51.

Commerce Bancshares Trading Down 0.3%

CBSH stock opened at $51.61 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.61. Commerce Bancshares has a 12 month low of $48.69 and a 12 month high of $63.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $53.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.89.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $449.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.47 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 26.51% and a return on equity of 15.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John W. Kemper sold 23,397 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.99, for a total transaction of $1,263,204.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 206,528 shares in the company, valued at $11,150,446.72. This represents a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP David L. Roller sold 2,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.32, for a total transaction of $111,545.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 28,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,542,707.56. The trade was a 6.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,667 shares of company stock worth $1,493,323. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CBSH. Apriem Advisors boosted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Apriem Advisors now owns 4,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 4,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 25,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,494,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Commerce Bancshares

Commerce Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company primarily engaged in providing a broad range of banking and financial services across the Midwest. Through its principal subsidiary, Commerce Bank, the company offers commercial and consumer banking, treasury management, trust and wealth advisory, and mortgage lending. Its diversified product suite includes deposit and loan products, cash management solutions, capital markets services, and private banking designed to meet the needs of individuals, small businesses, and large corporations.

The company’s commercial banking group delivers tailored credit facilities, equipment and inventory financing, asset-based lending, and merchant services.