Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) Shares Acquired by Azora Capital LP

Azora Capital LP lifted its holdings in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) by 7.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,230,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 161,181 shares during the quarter. Comerica accounts for 7.2% of Azora Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Azora Capital LP owned 1.70% of Comerica worth $133,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CMA. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Comerica during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Comerica in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Comerica by 39.3% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Comerica by 2,723.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC raised its holdings in Comerica by 22.4% during the second quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Comerica

In other Comerica news, EVP James Harry Weber sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.23, for a total transaction of $410,995.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,773 shares in the company, valued at $997,326.79. The trade was a 29.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bruce Mitchell sold 7,564 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.20, for a total value of $470,480.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,021,821.60. This trade represents a 31.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,456 shares of company stock worth $977,287. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Comerica Price Performance

Comerica stock opened at $72.25 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06 and a beta of 1.22. Comerica Incorporated has a 1 year low of $44.63 and a 1 year high of $73.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $64.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.90.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $806.49 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Comerica announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Comerica Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Comerica’s payout ratio is currently 71.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Comerica from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Comerica from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Comerica from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comerica presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.10.

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.