Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) was in 7 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. CBSH investors should pay attention to a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late. There were 10 hedge funds in our database with CBSH holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
In the financial world, there are dozens of metrics market participants can use to watch the equity markets. Two of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top money managers can beat the market by a superb amount (see just how much).
Equally as integral, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to break down the stock market universe. Just as you’d expect, there are lots of reasons for a corporate insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if you know what to do (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, let’s take a gander at the recent action encompassing Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH).
How have hedgies been trading Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -30% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Third Avenue Management, managed by Martin Whitman, holds the largest position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH). Third Avenue Management has a $13 million position in the stock, comprising 0.3% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Ken Gray and Steve Walsh of Bryn Mawr Capital, with a $12.9 million position; 0.9% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedgies that hold long positions include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.
Due to the fact that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) has experienced bearish sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, we can see that there exists a select few hedge funds who sold off their full holdings in Q1. Intriguingly, Anil Stevens and Glenn Shapiro’s Parameter Capital Management dumped the biggest investment of all the hedgies we monitor, comprising an estimated $5.3 million in stock.. Israel Englander’s fund, Millennium Management, also said goodbye to its stock, about $3.4 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 3 funds in Q1.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)?
Insider buying is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last 180-day time frame, Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) has seen 1 unique insiders buying, and 11 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH). These stocks are Texas Capital Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:TCBI), UMB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:UMBF), Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB), BOK Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:BOKF), and Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR). This group of stocks belong to the regional – southwest banks industry and their market caps resemble CBSH’s market cap.
