Paragon Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Paragon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,591 shares during the period. Commerce Bancshares accounts for about 1.4% of Paragon Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Paragon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $2,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 281,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,512,000 after buying an additional 9,362 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth about $566,000. Procyon Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth about $200,000. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth about $1,336,000. Finally, Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth about $581,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James cut Commerce Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.17.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of CBSH stock opened at $61.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.24 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.78. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.42 and a 52-week high of $72.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $64.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.43.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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 will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a boost from Commerce Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 27.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Commerce Bancshares news, 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 22,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,513,222. The trade was a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin G. Barth sold 24,870 shares of the business’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 value of $1,642,912.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 45,511 shares in the company, valued at $3,006,456.66. The trade was a 35.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 78,434 shares of company stock worth $5,248,272. Company 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.