Eukles Asset Management Boosts Holdings in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Eukles Asset Management grew its position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the quarter. Eukles Asset Management’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Commerce Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CBSH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a report on Thursday, January 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.00.

Insider Transactions at Commerce Bancshares

In related news, EVP Robert S. Holmes sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.66, for a total transaction of $263,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,648,429.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Commerce Bancshares news, EVP Robert S. Holmes sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.66, for a total transaction of $263,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,648,429.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David W. Kemper sold 2,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.81, for a total transaction of $145,824.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,181,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,057,115.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,321 shares of company stock valued at $752,387 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of CBSH stock traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $54.26. 280,396 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 486,159. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.91 and a 52-week high of $56.75. The stock has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $52.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.93.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $397.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $389.49 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Commerce Bancshares’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

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.