Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Sets New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $69.61 and last traded at $69.61, with a volume of 86027 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $63.28.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Comerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMA has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Comerica from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Comerica from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Comerica from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America downgraded shares of Comerica from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Comerica from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.81.

Comerica Trading Up 11.1 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $9.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.82 and a beta of 1.22.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.16. Comerica had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 11.17%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $806.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comerica announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Bruce Mitchell sold 7,564 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.20, for a total value of $470,480.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,021,821.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP James Harry Weber sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.23, for a total value of $410,995.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $997,326.79. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bruce Mitchell sold 7,564 shares of Comerica stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.20, for a total value of $470,480.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,021,821.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,609 shares of company stock valued at $1,027,839 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comerica

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Comerica during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Comerica during the second quarter worth about $37,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Comerica by 39.3% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Comerica by 2,723.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Comerica by 50.2% during the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.