Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) Price Target Raised to $77.00

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $76.00 to $77.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Stephens set a $64.00 price target on Commerce Bancshares and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Commerce Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.71.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of Commerce Bancshares stock opened at $54.74 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $7.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Commerce Bancshares has a 52 week low of $46.99 and a 52 week high of $60.92. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.80.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $498.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $492.22 million. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.31% and a net margin of 26.07%.During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Commerce Bancshares will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th were issued a $0.2750 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commerce Bancshares

In related news, SVP Douglas Neff sold 666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.15, for a total transaction of $38,727.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $683,029.90. This represents a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Charles Kim sold 19,771 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.18, for a total transaction of $1,170,047.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 119,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,066,683.80. This represents a 14.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,950 shares of company stock valued at $1,963,777. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Commerce Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CBSH. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the second quarter worth approximately $83,328,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,016,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the second quarter worth approximately $2,311,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 29.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,943,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $193,999,000 after purchasing an additional 894,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 39.8% during the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 631,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,078,000 after buying an additional 179,894 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Commerce Bancshares

Commerce Bancshares, Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Its principal subsidiary, Commerce Bank, provides banking and financial services to businesses, institutions and individuals through a network of branches and digital channels.

The company’s offerings include commercial and consumer lending, deposit accounts, treasury and payment services, credit and debit cards, investment services, brokerage, trust administration and wealth management. Commerce also provides specialized services for businesses, including cash management, merchant processing and other payment solutions.

Commerce Bank traces its history to 1865 and primarily serves customers in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma and Colorado.