Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH Shares Acquired by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 42.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,027 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $2,281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 5,922.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 501,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,991,000 after buying an additional 493,526 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,690,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $768,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098,142 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,972,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $237,420,000 after purchasing an additional 202,758 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,611,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,310,000 after purchasing an additional 73,965 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 251,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,048,000 after purchasing an additional 48,508 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Commerce Bancshares

In other news, SVP Margaret M. Rowe sold 861 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.69, for a total value of $44,505.09. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 5,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $296,803.98. This trade represents a 13.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy S. Dunn bought 2,500 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $47.71 per share, with a total value of $119,275.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $257,777.13. This trade represents a 86.12% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Hovde Group decreased their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.30.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

CBSH stock opened at $52.37 on Monday. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $46.99 and a one year high of $63.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $50.27 and a 200-day moving average of $51.75.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.02. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 26.37% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The company had revenue of $475.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $481.94 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.38%.

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.