Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) Stock Price

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) had its target price reduced by Morgan Stanley from $67.00 to $65.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 26.43% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on CBSH. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $62.00 price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.51.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of CBSH stock traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $51.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 582,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,322,943. Commerce Bancshares has a 12-month low of $48.69 and a 12-month high of $63.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.99.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.02. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 26.51%.The firm had revenue of $449.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $442.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. Commerce Bancshares’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Commerce Bancshares

In other news, SVP Derrick Brooks sold 1,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.40, for a total value of $56,793.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $793,424. This represents a 6.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John W. Kemper sold 23,397 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.99, for a total value of $1,263,204.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 206,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,150,446.72. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 27,667 shares of company stock valued at $1,493,323. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Waterford Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,577,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 404,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,157,000 after buying an additional 43,608 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 727 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 34,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,787,000 after buying an additional 8,178 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Company Profile

Commerce Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company primarily engaged in providing a broad range of banking and financial services across the Midwest. Through its principal subsidiary, Commerce Bank, the company offers commercial and consumer banking, treasury management, trust and wealth advisory, and mortgage lending. Its diversified product suite includes deposit and loan products, cash management solutions, capital markets services, and private banking designed to meet the needs of individuals, small businesses, and large corporations.

The company’s commercial banking group delivers tailored credit facilities, equipment and inventory financing, asset-based lending, and merchant services.