Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) Shares Purchased by PL Capital Advisors LLC

PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) by 6,085.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,778,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,749,438 shares during the quarter. Comerica comprises approximately 1.3% of PL Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. PL Capital Advisors LLC owned 1.35% of Comerica worth $109,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CMA. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Comerica by 51.4% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 62,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,874,000 after purchasing an additional 21,254 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Comerica in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,095,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in shares of Comerica by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Comerica by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 33,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,065,000 after acquiring an additional 1,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Comerica during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,299,000. Institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Comerica from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $51.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Argus raised Comerica to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Comerica from $76.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Comerica from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Comerica in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $64.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.57.

Comerica Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CMA opened at $64.28 on Wednesday. Comerica Incorporated has a one year low of $45.32 and a one year high of $73.45. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $64.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $8.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 1.25.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by ($0.05). Comerica had a return on equity of 12.04% and a net margin of 13.98%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comerica declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. Comerica’s payout ratio is presently 56.57%.

About Comerica

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.