John W. Kemper Sells 26,042 Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) Stock

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) CEO John W. Kemper sold 26,042 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.28, for a total value of $1,752,105.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,258,583.12. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CBSH opened at $67.65 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $65.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.19. The company has a market capitalization of $8.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.80. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.09 and a 12-month high of $72.75.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $422.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $417.48 million. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 25.24%. Commerce Bancshares’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Commerce Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Commerce Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CBSH. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Commerce Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 51.1% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the third quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James cut shares of Commerce Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.83.

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.