Equity Investment Corp Acquires New Shares in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)

Equity Investment Corp acquired a new stake in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CMA. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Comerica by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Comerica by 99.4% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 15,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $860,000 after buying an additional 7,798 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Comerica by 1,159.3% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 16,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $920,000 after buying an additional 15,407 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in Comerica by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 63,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,485,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. grew its holdings in Comerica by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 6,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comerica Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CMA opened at $68.92 on Monday. Comerica Incorporated has a 12 month low of $42.55 and a 12 month high of $71.63. The stock has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $61.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.16. Comerica had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 11.17%. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $806.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comerica declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Comerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comerica

In other Comerica news, EVP Bruce Mitchell sold 7,564 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.20, for a total transaction of $470,480.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,021,821.60. The trade was a 31.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christine M. Moore sold 2,545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.51, for a total transaction of $146,362.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,605,104.10. This trade represents a 8.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,001 shares of company stock valued at $1,123,650 in the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on CMA. Bank of America cut Comerica from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $55.00 to $52.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wedbush upgraded Comerica from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $52.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Comerica from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Comerica from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $50.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Comerica from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.86.

Comerica Profile

Comerica Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services. The company operates through Commercial Bank, Retail Bank, Wealth Management, and Finance segments. The Commercial Bank segment offers various products and services, including commercial loans and lines of credit, deposits, cash management, payment solutions, card services, capital market products, international trade finance, letters of credit, foreign exchange management services, and loan syndication services for small and middle market businesses, multinational corporations, and governmental entities.