MQS Management LLC Buys Shares of 8,208 Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $458,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $71,835,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Commerce Bancshares by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,372,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $660,816,000 after purchasing an additional 558,017 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 19.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,069,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,453,000 after buying an additional 342,793 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,509,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,776,000 after buying an additional 240,938 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 7,222,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $385,771,000 after acquiring an additional 196,431 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CBSH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.00.

Commerce Bancshares Trading Up 2.1 %

Commerce Bancshares stock opened at $63.73 on Friday. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.91 and a 52 week high of $65.86. The stock has a market cap of $8.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.09 and a 200-day moving average of $56.88.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.17. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 23.62%. The firm had revenue of $414.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $406.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. Commerce Bancshares’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 30.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.23, for a total transaction of $124,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,381 shares in the company, valued at $1,454,999.63. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Jonathan M. Kemper sold 19,626 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total transaction of $1,249,391.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 997,112 shares in the company, valued at $63,476,149.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 2,000 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.23, for a total transaction of $124,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,381 shares in the company, valued at $1,454,999.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 49,612 shares of company stock valued at $3,184,609. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.