Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases 9,321 Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 23.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,321 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $3,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 84.0% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director June Mcallister Fowler sold 1,618 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.72, for a total value of $98,244.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $192,786. This represents a 33.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $74.00 to $70.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Commerce Bancshares from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.20.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CBSH opened at $65.45 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $60.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.36. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.97 and a fifty-two week high of $72.75. The company has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.60.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.05. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 25.24%. The company had revenue of $428.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $417.85 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.63%.

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.