Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Holdings in Comerica Incorporated $CMA

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Comerica Inc. by 9.4%, owning approximately 5.5 million shares valued at $325.3 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• A number of hedge funds, including Charles Schwab Investment Management and North Reef Capital Management, have also raised their stakes in Comerica, indicating increasing institutional interest.
• Comerica reported $1.42 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share with a yield of 4.2%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,508,229 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 472,409 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 4.19% of Comerica worth $325,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Comerica in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Comerica by 152.0% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 867 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Comerica by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new position in shares of Comerica during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $130,000. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comerica in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $200,000. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Comerica from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Comerica from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Comerica in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Comerica and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, DA Davidson set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Comerica and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Comerica presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.40.

Comerica Trading Down 0.9%

CMA stock traded down $0.6390 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $66.9110. 734,877 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,977,729. Comerica Incorporated has a 12-month low of $48.12 and a 12-month high of $73.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.83, a PEG ratio of 12.19 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.19. Comerica had a net margin of 14.92% and a return on equity of 10.92%. The firm had revenue of $849.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $844.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Comerica's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comerica

In other news, insider James Mcgregor Carr sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.28, for a total transaction of $269,120.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 33,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,251,928.88. This trade represents a 10.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 2,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.03, for a total value of $140,763.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,424 shares of the company's stock, valued at $631,690.72. This trade represents a 18.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.