State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Grows Holdings in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 37,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,774 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $2,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 7.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,396,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,951,000 after purchasing an additional 163,782 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,468,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,524,000 after purchasing an additional 219,826 shares during the last quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 17.7% during the third quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 707,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,006,000 after purchasing an additional 106,316 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 474,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,244,000 after purchasing an additional 21,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 7,407.2% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 362,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,556,000 after purchasing an additional 358,066 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ CBSH opened at $64.90 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $64.86 and its 200-day moving average is $64.33. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.89 and a 12-month high of $72.75. The firm has a market cap of $8.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.80.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.06. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 25.24% and a return on equity of 16.31%. The company had revenue of $422.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $417.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is a positive change from Commerce Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is 26.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CBSH shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James cut shares of Commerce Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Commerce Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 22,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,526,265.75. This represents a 2.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Charles G. Kim sold 13,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $914,285.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 86,246 shares in the company, valued at $5,844,028.96. This trade represents a 13.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 86,054 shares of company stock valued at $5,771,192 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% 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.