Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Comerica (NYSE:CMA)

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 12,497 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 139% compared to the typical volume of 5,234 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Cassandra M. Mckinney sold 1,616 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.64, for a total value of $88,298.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at $454,276.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Wendy Bridges sold 3,034 shares of Comerica stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.74, for a total transaction of $160,013.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at $920,840.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Cassandra M. Mckinney sold 1,616 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.64, for a total value of $88,298.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at $454,276.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Comerica

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CMA. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Comerica by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 11,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $650,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Fruth Investment Management boosted its position in Comerica by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Fruth Investment Management now owns 13,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $730,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Comerica by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,918 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in Comerica by 9.9% in the second quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 2,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its stake in Comerica by 4.9% in the third quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 4,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comerica Stock Performance

NYSE CMA traded down $0.85 on Tuesday, reaching $50.00. 1,438,637 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,098,805. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Comerica has a one year low of $28.40 and a one year high of $57.39. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $51.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.13.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.08. Comerica had a net margin of 16.71% and a return on equity of 19.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $826.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.58 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Comerica will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Comerica's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on CMA. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Comerica in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. TheStreet raised Comerica from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Barclays upped their price objective on Comerica from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Comerica in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Comerica from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $57.67.

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.