EP Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH

EP Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 6.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 258 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,855,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 39.5% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 5,453 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 64.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the period. Novem Group lifted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 35.3% during the first quarter. Novem Group now owns 16,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 4,344 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 2.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,321,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $144,479,000 after purchasing an additional 49,737 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of CBSH opened at $60.25 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $62.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.96. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.69 and a fifty-two week high of $72.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.61.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.12. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 26.37% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The firm had revenue of $445.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $434.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.02 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.94 EPS for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on CBSH shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $66.50 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.20.

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.