Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Receives Equal Weight Rating from Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley restated their equal weight rating on shares of Comerica (NYSE:CMA) in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $53.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

CMA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Argus downgraded shares of Comerica from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their price target on shares of Comerica from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Comerica from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Comerica from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens reissued an overweight rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Comerica in a report on Friday, April 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Comerica presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $56.89.

Comerica Stock Performance

CMA stock opened at $52.95 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.53 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.56. Comerica has a fifty-two week low of $28.40 and a fifty-two week high of $57.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $807.57 million. Comerica had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 16.51%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Comerica will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comerica Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.36%. Comerica’s dividend payout ratio is 56.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Wendy Bridges sold 3,034 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.74, for a total value of $160,013.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $920,840.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Cassandra M. Mckinney sold 1,616 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.64, for a total value of $88,298.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,314 shares in the company, valued at $454,276.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Wendy Bridges sold 3,034 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.74, for a total value of $160,013.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $920,840.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comerica

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Comerica by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,878,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $941,968,000 after buying an additional 676,959 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Comerica by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,343,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $186,580,000 after buying an additional 48,526 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Comerica by 4.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,097,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,704,000 after buying an additional 130,997 shares during the last quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Comerica by 43.0% during the third quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 2,880,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $119,664,000 after purchasing an additional 865,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Comerica by 60.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,605,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $145,444,000 after purchasing an additional 984,391 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

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.