Entropy Technologies LP Makes New Investment in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 6,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $428,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CBSH. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $952,000 after buying an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 16,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,013,000 after buying an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $870,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CBSH opened at $66.19 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.24. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.09 and a fifty-two week high of $72.75. The company has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.80.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $422.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $417.48 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 25.24% and a return on equity of 16.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Commerce Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is 27.43%.

Insider Activity at Commerce Bancshares

In other Commerce Bancshares news, CEO John W. Kemper sold 26,042 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.28, for a total value of $1,752,105.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,258,583.12. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Charles G. Kim sold 13,493 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 86,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,844,028.96. This represents a 13.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 86,944 shares of company stock worth $5,835,512. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CBSH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Raymond James cut Commerce Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.83.

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.