Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases New Shares in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 47,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,861,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CBSH. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 30,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Sound Stewardship LLC raised its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 3.9% in the third quarter. Sound Stewardship LLC now owns 4,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 51.1% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Commerce Bancshares by 3.6% during the third quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 18,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CBSH opened at $63.31 on Thursday. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $47.09 and a one year high of $72.75. The company has a market cap of $8.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.37.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $421.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $412.85 million. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 24.15%. As a group, analysts expect that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.95 EPS for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is 28.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CBSH shares. Piper Sandler set a $68.50 target price on Commerce Bancshares and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.07.

Insider Transactions at Commerce Bancshares

In other news, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 500 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.55, for a total transaction of $34,275.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 22,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,526,265.75. The trade was a 2.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas D. Neff sold 888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total value of $64,024.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $579,539.80. The trade was a 9.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,398 shares of company stock worth $2,504,665. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

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.