Cooke & Bieler LP Trims Stock Position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Cooke & Bieler LP trimmed its position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 923,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 35,448 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP owned approximately 0.71% of Commerce Bancshares worth $51,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 86.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 156.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 2,864.7% in the 2nd quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 974 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the first quarter valued at about $90,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CBSH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commerce Bancshares

In other news, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.82, for a total transaction of $91,230.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,543,672.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Jonathan M. Kemper sold 19,626 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total transaction of $1,249,391.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 997,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,476,149.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.82, for a total value of $91,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 25,381 shares in the company, valued at $1,543,672.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,281 shares of company stock worth $2,975,232. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CBSH traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $63.61. 47,523 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 512,775. The firm has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.14. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.91 and a 12 month high of $65.86.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $414.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $406.88 million. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 23.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is 30.12%.

About Commerce Bancshares

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.