Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Comerica were worth $901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Comerica by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,977,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,745,000 after purchasing an additional 96,084 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Comerica by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,306,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $257,975,000 after buying an additional 226,285 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Comerica by 51.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,045,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $206,468,000 after purchasing an additional 1,370,886 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Comerica by 31.3% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,408,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $144,312,000 after acquiring an additional 574,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP boosted its holdings in Comerica by 7.8% in the third quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 2,230,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,621,000 after purchasing an additional 161,181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Comerica

In related news, EVP James Harry Weber sold 6,500 shares of Comerica stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were 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 owns 15,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $997,326.79. The trade was a 29.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bruce Mitchell sold 7,564 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,021,821.60. This represents a 31.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,456 shares of company stock valued at $977,287 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on CMA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Comerica from $71.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised Comerica from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Comerica from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Comerica from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Comerica presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.68.

Comerica Stock Performance

CMA opened at $61.77 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.97. The firm has a market cap of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Comerica Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $45.32 and a fifty-two week high of $73.45.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $806.49 million. Comerica had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 11.17%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comerica announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.60%. Comerica’s payout ratio is 71.00%.

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.