Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Sells 15,011 Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp reduced its holdings in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 14.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 88,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,011 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $4,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CBSH. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Commerce Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth approximately $71,835,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,372,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $660,816,000 after purchasing an additional 558,017 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,676,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,541,000 after purchasing an additional 302,630 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 7,222,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $385,771,000 after purchasing an additional 196,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 15.4% in the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,260,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,339,000 after purchasing an additional 168,550 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Commerce Bancshares news, VP David L. Orf sold 2,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.83, for a total value of $136,272.66. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,240,846.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Commerce Bancshares news, CEO John W. Kemper sold 5,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.22, for a total value of $336,274.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 198,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,932,995.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP David L. Orf sold 2,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.83, for a total value of $136,272.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,240,846.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 47,612 shares of company stock valued at $3,060,149. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CBSH opened at $60.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.95, a PEG ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.75. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.91 and a 12-month high of $65.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $61.58 and its 200 day moving average is $56.56.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $414.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $406.88 million. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 23.62%. Commerce Bancshares’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is 30.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CBSH. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.00.

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.