NFJ Investment Group LLC Acquires 106,316 Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

NFJ Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 17.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 707,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 106,316 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bancshares accounts for about 1.2% of NFJ Investment Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned 0.55% of Commerce Bancshares worth $42,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IHT Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the third quarter valued at $408,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $316,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Commerce Bancshares by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 58,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,502,000 after purchasing an additional 6,043 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 10,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 56.1% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 75,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,487,000 after purchasing an additional 27,143 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

CBSH traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $69.51. The stock had a trading volume of 53,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 556,245. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.86 and a 1 year high of $72.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $64.66 and a 200 day moving average of $60.97. The company has a market cap of $8.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.77.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $421.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $412.85 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 24.15% and a return on equity of 15.93%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CBSH has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler set a $68.50 price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Commerce Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Commerce Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.50.

Insider Activity at Commerce Bancshares

In related news, Chairman David W. Kemper sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.78, for a total value of $1,853,400.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,151,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,170,189.32. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John K. Handy sold 1,331 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total value of $84,917.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 41,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,650,762.40. This represents a 3.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,109 shares of company stock worth $2,191,123 in the last ninety days. 3.10% of the stock is 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.