Royal Bank of Canada Increases Holdings in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 451,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 36,523 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $28,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CBSH. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Commerce Bancshares by 84.0% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Commerce Bancshares by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director June Mcallister Fowler sold 1,618 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.72, for a total value of $98,244.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $192,786. The trade was a 33.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Commerce Bancshares Trading Down 0.7%

CBSH opened at $62.76 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.45. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.97 and a 12-month high of $72.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.65, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.60.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.05. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 25.24%. The firm had revenue of $428.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $417.85 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.94 EPS for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CBSH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Commerce Bancshares from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Commerce Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $74.00 to $70.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.20.

Commerce Bancshares 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.