VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New Investment in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 43,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,680,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CBSH. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 64.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 2,955 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 14,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $889,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council bought a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth approximately $316,000. Finally, XML Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 3,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ CBSH opened at $53.84 on Wednesday. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.11 and a twelve month high of $72.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $59.68 and its 200 day moving average is $61.20.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.03). Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 26.48% and a return on equity of 15.73%. The firm had revenue of $440.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CBSH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research lowered Commerce Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on Commerce Bancshares in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Commerce Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Commerce Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.29.

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.