Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) Shares Sold by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lowered its position in shares of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,429 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Comerica were worth $1,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in Comerica by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comerica during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Comerica by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Comerica during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Comerica by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Comerica from $76.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded Comerica to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Comerica from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $51.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Comerica from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Compass Point lifted their price target on Comerica from $64.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Comerica currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.57.

Comerica Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Comerica stock opened at $64.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.11. Comerica Incorporated has a 1-year low of $45.32 and a 1-year high of $73.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $1.46 EPS. Analysts predict that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comerica declared that its board has approved a share repurchase 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. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Comerica’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.57%.

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.