Shares of Commerce Bancshares Inc.
CBSH,
slipped 0.1% in afternoon trading Friday, after the Missouri-based bank raised its quarterly dividend by 6.9%, to 27 cents a share from 25.25 cents a share. Based on current stock prices, the new annual dividend rate increases the implied dividend yield to 1.61% from 1.50%. The new yield compares with the yield for the SPDR S&P Regional Banking exchange-traded fund
KRE,
of 2.28% and the implied yield for the S&P 500 index
SPX,
of 1.64%. Commerce Bancshares’s stock has gained 1.6% over the past three months, while the regional bank ETF has advanced 4.1% and the S&P 500 has rallied 11.2%.