Franklin Resources Inc. Invests $2.86 Million in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 47,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,861,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 51.1% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 48.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kevin G. Barth sold 1,582 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.54, for a total value of $106,848.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,417,723.86. The trade was a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was 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 $1,526,265.75. This trade represents a 2.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,398 shares of company stock valued at $2,504,665. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CBSH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered Commerce Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $66.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler set a $68.50 price objective on Commerce Bancshares and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Commerce Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.07.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Commerce Bancshares stock opened at $63.31 on Thursday. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.09 and a 52 week high of $72.75. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $67.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.37. The company has a market cap of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.77.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $421.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $412.85 million. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 24.15%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.95 EPS for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.13%.

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.