Strs Ohio Buys Shares of 19,873 Comerica Incorporated $CMA

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has acquired a new stake in Comerica Incorporated, purchasing 19,873 shares valued at approximately $1,174,000 during the first quarter.
• Comerica has reported earnings of $1.42 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, and has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, yielding 4.1%.
• Institutional investors now own 80.74% of Comerica's stock, with multiple hedge funds further increasing their investments in the company in the first quarter.

Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 19,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,174,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. WBI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comerica in the first quarter valued at about $810,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Comerica by 41.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Comerica by 2.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 483,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,585,000 after acquiring an additional 11,268 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Comerica by 12.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the period. Finally, United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of Comerica in the first quarter valued at about $514,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company's stock.

Comerica Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:CMA traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.81. 2,603,481 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,673,505. Comerica Incorporated has a one year low of $48.12 and a one year high of $73.45. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $67.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.75. The company has a market cap of $8.97 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37, a P/E/G ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 0.97.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $849.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $844.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Comerica's payout ratio is presently 54.41%.

Insider Activity at Comerica

In other news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $631,690.72. This represents a 18.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider James Mcgregor Carr sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,251,928.88. The trade was a 10.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Comerica from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Comerica from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Comerica from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Comerica in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Comerica in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.10.

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.