Violich Capital Management Inc. Purchases New Stake in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)

Violich Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 3,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CMA. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in Comerica by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new position in Comerica in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Comerica in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in Comerica by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Comerica in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Comerica Price Performance

Comerica stock opened at $66.24 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $64.62 and its 200 day moving average is $61.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $8.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 1.25. Comerica Incorporated has a one year low of $45.32 and a one year high of $73.45.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by ($0.05). Comerica had a return on equity of 12.04% and a net margin of 13.98%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.34 EPS for the current year.

Comerica declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CMA shares. UBS Group started coverage on Comerica in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $64.00 target price on the stock. Argus upgraded Comerica to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Comerica from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Comerica from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Comerica from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.33.

Comerica 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.