Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Position in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Comerica Incorporated by 0.7% in Q1, owning approximately 10.12% of the company, worth $785.39 million after selling 98,009 shares.
• Comerica's stock has seen varied analyst ratings, with a consensus price target of $64.40; analysts have raised some price targets while others have downgraded their ratings.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 payable on October 1st, yielding 4.2% annually, with a payout ratio of 54.41%.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,298,172 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 98,009 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.12% of Comerica worth $785,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Comerica during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Comerica by 152.0% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 867 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Comerica by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Comerica in the 4th quarter valued at $130,000. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comerica in the 4th quarter valued at $200,000. Institutional investors own 80.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Comerica from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Comerica from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Comerica from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $70.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Comerica from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, DA Davidson set a $60.00 price objective on Comerica and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Comerica currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.40.

Comerica Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of CMA stock traded down $1.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $68.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,434,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,683,413. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $62.91 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $8.75 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 12.48 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Comerica Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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

Comerica Company 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.