PGGM Investments Acquires 2,578 Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

PGGM Investments boosted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,578 shares during the period. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $3,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Commerce Bancshares by 48.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 24,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,453,000 after buying an additional 2,071 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $638,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 23.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 703 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 752.4% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,550 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of Commerce Bancshares stock opened at $58.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $64.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.53. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.89 and a 1 year high of $72.75.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $417.48 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.94 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 $0.275 dividend. This is a boost from Commerce Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 27.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Commerce Bancshares news, EVP Kevin G. Barth sold 24,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.06, for a total transaction of $1,642,912.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 45,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,006,456.66. This represents a 35.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP David L. Orf sold 1,036 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.24, for a total transaction of $70,696.64. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 22,175 shares in the company, valued at $1,513,222. This trade represents a 4.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 81,016 shares of company stock valued at $5,422,811. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CBSH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on 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 increased their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James lowered Commerce Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.17.

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.