Ethic Inc. Lowers Stake in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)

Ethic Inc. decreased its position in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA - Free Report) by 22.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,279 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,826 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Comerica were worth $1,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in shares of Comerica by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 428 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comerica in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Comerica by 36.7% during 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 during the period. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Comerica by 152.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 867 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company's stock.

Comerica Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of CMA traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $58.81. The stock had a trading volume of 1,297,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,204,356. Comerica Incorporated has a 1-year low of $45.32 and a 1-year high of $73.45. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $55.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.02. The company has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 0.92. 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 (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.11. Comerica had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 12.04%. The firm had revenue of $829.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.31 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.83%. Comerica's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CMA. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Comerica from $67.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Argus raised shares of Comerica to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI cut shares of Comerica from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stephens cut shares of Comerica from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Comerica from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Comerica has a consensus 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.