HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Position in Comerica Incorporated $CMA

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Comerica Incorporated by 13.1% in the first quarter, owning 48,407 shares valued at approximately $2.86 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Comerica reported earnings of $1.42 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share on October 1st.
• Around 80.74% of Comerica's stock is held by institutional investors, indicating strong investor interest in the financial services provider.

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA - Free Report) by 13.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,596 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Comerica were worth $2,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comerica in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Comerica by 152.0% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 867 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Comerica by 19.4% in the first 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Comerica in the fourth quarter worth about $130,000. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comerica in the fourth quarter worth about $200,000. Institutional investors own 80.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CMA. UBS Group set a $64.00 price objective on Comerica and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. DA Davidson set a $60.00 price target on Comerica and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Truist Financial increased their price target on Comerica from $61.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Comerica in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Comerica from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $70.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider James Mcgregor Carr sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.28, for a total transaction of $269,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 33,471 shares in the company, valued at $2,251,928.88. The trade was a 10.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 9,424 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Comerica Stock Up 2.1%

NYSE CMA traded up $1.45 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.14. 1,035,848 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,977,972. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $9.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 0.94. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $64.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.15. Comerica Incorporated has a 52 week low of $48.12 and a 52 week high of $73.45.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $849.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $844.39 million. Comerica had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 14.92%.During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Comerica Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Comerica's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.41%.

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.