AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 235,482 Shares of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA - Free Report) by 102.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 464,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 235,482 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.35% of Comerica worth $28,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CMA. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in Comerica by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 428 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC bought a new position in shares of Comerica in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Comerica by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 633 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Comerica during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in Comerica by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 824 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.74% of the company's stock.

Comerica Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CMA traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $54.69. The company had a trading volume of 1,540,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,201,115. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Comerica Incorporated has a one year low of $45.32 and a one year high of $73.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $55.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.32. The company has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.92.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $829.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $839.31 million. Comerica had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 12.04%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Comerica's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on CMA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Comerica from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Comerica from $66.00 to $57.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Comerica from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Comerica from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $63.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Comerica from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.22.

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.