John K. Handy Sells 4,844 Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) Stock

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) EVP John K. Handy sold 4,844 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.25, for a total value of $325,759.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,734,048.75. The trade was a 10.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of CBSH stock opened at $68.59 on Friday. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.09 and a 1-year high of $72.75. The firm has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $65.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.16.

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

Commerce Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a positive change from Commerce Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Commerce Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CBSH. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 7.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,396,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,951,000 after purchasing an additional 163,782 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,468,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,524,000 after buying an additional 219,826 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,055,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,764,000 after buying an additional 43,928 shares in the last quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 707,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,006,000 after buying an additional 106,316 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 474,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,244,000 after acquiring an additional 21,922 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.