Elser Financial Planning Inc Purchases 211 Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Elser Financial Planning Inc grew its stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 211 shares during the quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CBSH. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 51.1% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 48.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Trading Down 1.4 %

Commerce Bancshares stock opened at $67.65 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $8.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.19. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.09 and a 12-month high of $72.75.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $417.48 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. Commerce Bancshares’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Commerce Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 26.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at Commerce Bancshares

In other news, VP David L. Orf sold 1,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.24, for a total value of $70,696.64. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,513,222. This trade represents a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John W. Kemper sold 26,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.28, for a total transaction of $1,752,105.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,258,583.12. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 74,339 shares of company stock valued at $4,985,251. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares 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.