Meeder Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 54.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,836 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CBSH. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 11,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Apriem Advisors grew its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Apriem Advisors now owns 3,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Verde Capital Management boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Verde Capital Management now owns 3,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:CBSH opened at $62.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.78. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.49 and a 1-year high of $72.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $64.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.47.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $422.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $417.48 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 25.24% and a return on equity of 16.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. This is an increase from Commerce Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 27.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 1,719 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.30, for a total transaction of $115,688.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 18,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,257,702.40. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John K. Handy sold 2,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total transaction of $181,502.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,638 shares in the company, valued at $2,643,061.84. The trade was a 6.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 78,434 shares of company stock valued at $5,248,272 in the last three months. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.