Diversified Trust Co. Buys Shares of 16,778 Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH

Diversified Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 16,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $878,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CBSH. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $89,282,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 82.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,245,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,368,000 after buying an additional 561,331 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 5,922.5% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 501,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,991,000 after buying an additional 493,526 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 56.7% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,313,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,492,000 after buying an additional 475,331 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 28.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,903,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,745,000 after acquiring an additional 420,053 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Commerce Bancshares

In other Commerce Bancshares news, SVP Kim L. Jakovich sold 949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total transaction of $48,826.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 12,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $655,524.45. The trade was a 6.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John W. Kemper sold 23,397 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.99, for a total value of $1,263,204.03. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 29,477 shares of company stock worth $1,586,655 in the last quarter. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Commerce Bancshares Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Commerce Bancshares stock opened at $48.99 on Friday. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.99 and a 12-month high of $63.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.75.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $449.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.47 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 26.51% and a return on equity of 15.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CBSH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler set a $62.00 price objective on Commerce Bancshares and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Commerce Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.51.

Commerce Bancshares Profile

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.