Eukles Asset Management Acquires 345 Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

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

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CBSH. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 58,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,179,000 after acquiring an additional 4,611 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 14.7% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 27.2% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 25,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,814,000 after purchasing an additional 5,417 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 59,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,414,000 after buying an additional 4,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,110,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,527,000 after buying an additional 12,655 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Commerce Bancshares

In related news, Director Benjamin F. Rassieur III sold 1,785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.83, for a total transaction of $96,086.55. Following the sale, the director now owns 33,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,806,911.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Commerce Bancshares news, Director Benjamin F. Rassieur III sold 1,785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.83, for a total transaction of $96,086.55. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,806,911.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP David L. Roller sold 1,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.62, for a total transaction of $70,463.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,566,638.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,321 shares of company stock valued at $752,387. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on CBSH shares. Raymond James raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America initiated coverage on Commerce Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.00.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CBSH traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.26. The company had a trading volume of 280,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 486,159. The firm has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.93. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $40.91 and a one year high of $56.75.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $397.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $389.49 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.39 EPS for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.12%.

Commerce Bancshares Company 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.