Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 591.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,340 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,631,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $672,004,000 after purchasing an additional 259,127 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 7.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,509,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,776,000 after acquiring an additional 240,938 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position 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 valued at $115,453,000 after acquiring an additional 342,793 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,260,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,339,000 after acquiring an additional 168,550 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 659,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,236,000 after acquiring an additional 41,220 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of Commerce Bancshares stock opened at $59.75 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.19. The company has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 0.75. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $40.91 and a one year high of $65.86.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $414.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.88 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 23.62% and a return on equity of 16.50%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. On average, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David L. Orf sold 2,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.83, for a total transaction of $136,272.66. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 19,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,240,846.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP David L. Orf sold 2,102 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.83, for a total transaction of $136,272.66. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,240,846.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,454,999.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,612 shares of company stock worth $3,184,609. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CBSH. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.00.

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.