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

Key Points

• Investors have significantly increased their activity in Comerica's call options, acquiring 20,139 contracts, a rise of approximately 315% from typical trading volumes.
• Comerica's stock has recently been rated with a consensus of "Hold" from analysts, with target prices varying from $60 to $73, reflecting mixed sentiments about its future performance.
• The company will be paying a quarterly dividend of $0.71 on October 1st, marking an annualized payout of $2.84, which results in a dividend yield of 4.1%.

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 20,139 call options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately315% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,847 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CMA. UBS Group set a $64.00 target price on shares of Comerica and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Comerica from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Comerica in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Comerica from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, DA Davidson set a $60.00 target price on shares of Comerica and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.65.

Comerica Trading Down 1.0%

CMA traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $69.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 484,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,977,997. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $8.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a PEG ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.29. Comerica has a 52-week low of $48.12 and a 52-week high of $73.45.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $849.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $844.39 million. Comerica had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 14.92%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Comerica will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 2,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.03, for a total transaction of $140,763.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,424 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $631,690.72. The trade was a 18.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider James Mcgregor Carr sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.28, for a total transaction of $269,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 33,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,251,928.88. This trade represents a 10.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comerica

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Comerica in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Gen Wealth Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Comerica in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comerica in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Comerica by 41.8% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Comerica in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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