Bailard Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)

Bailard Inc. increased its stake in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) by 231.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,100 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Comerica were worth $717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMA. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Comerica by 31.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 2,215 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Comerica by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Comerica by 43.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Comerica by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 48,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,986,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Finally, FSM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Comerica during the 3rd quarter worth $215,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Comerica Price Performance

Shares of CMA stock opened at $62.66 on Tuesday. Comerica Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $45.32 and a fifty-two week high of $73.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.28.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by ($0.05). Comerica had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 12.04%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comerica announced that its board has approved a stock 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. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.53%. Comerica’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Comerica from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $73.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Comerica from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Comerica from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Comerica from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.57.

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.