Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) Downgraded by Morgan Stanley to Equal Weight

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) was downgraded by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $64.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $66.00. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.44% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Commerce Bancshares has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.71.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of Commerce Bancshares stock opened at $57.43 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.44. Commerce Bancshares has a twelve month low of $40.91 and a twelve month high of $65.86. The firm has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.87 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Insider Activity

In other Commerce Bancshares news, CFO Charles G. Kim sold 5,282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $343,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 89,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,815,680. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Commerce Bancshares news, SVP David L. Roller sold 861 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $55,362.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,949 shares in the company, valued at $1,990,020.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Charles G. Kim sold 5,282 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $343,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 89,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,815,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,612 shares of company stock worth $3,184,609 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Commerce Bancshares

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UBS Group AG boosted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 153,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,214,000 after purchasing an additional 63,332 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 5,183 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 34,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,869,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 27,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 53,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 3,032 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.