Verition Fund Management LLC Buys 179,894 Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH

Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 39.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 631,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 179,894 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $33,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,282,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,830,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,690,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $768,877,000 after buying an additional 1,098,142 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 1,433.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,145,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,965,000 after buying an additional 1,070,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,352,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,125,000 after buying an additional 640,928 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on CBSH shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $58.50 price objective (up from $56.00) on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group cut their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.30.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

CBSH stock opened at $55.82 on Monday. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.99 and a 52 week high of $63.19. The company has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.97.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.02. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 26.37% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The business had revenue of $475.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $481.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is 26.38%.

Commerce Bancshares Company Profile

Commerce Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company primarily engaged in providing a broad range of banking and financial services across the Midwest. Through its principal subsidiary, Commerce Bank, the company offers commercial and consumer banking, treasury management, trust and wealth advisory, and mortgage lending. Its diversified product suite includes deposit and loan products, cash management solutions, capital markets services, and private banking designed to meet the needs of individuals, small businesses, and large corporations.

The company’s commercial banking group delivers tailored credit facilities, equipment and inventory financing, asset-based lending, and merchant services.