Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Acquires 398 Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $952,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 16,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $870,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $636,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 39,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CBSH opened at $67.36 on Wednesday. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.09 and a 1 year high of $72.75. The stock has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $65.21 and a 200 day moving average of $64.23.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.06. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 25.24%. The firm had revenue of $422.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $417.48 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This is a boost from Commerce Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James lowered Commerce Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.83.

Insider Transactions at Commerce Bancshares

In other news, CFO Charles G. Kim sold 13,493 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $914,285.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 86,246 shares in the company, valued at $5,844,028.96. This represents a 13.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David L. Orf sold 1,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.24, for a total transaction of $70,696.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,513,222. The trade was a 4.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 86,944 shares of company stock valued at $5,835,512. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.