Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 29,661 Shares of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,111,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,661 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.61% of Comerica worth $126,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CMA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Comerica by 51.3% in 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. Samlyn Capital LLC bought a new stake in Comerica during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,375,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Comerica by 390.6% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 761,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,628,000 after buying an additional 606,375 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Comerica by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,408,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $144,312,000 after acquiring an additional 574,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Comerica by 311.2% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 663,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,845,000 after acquiring an additional 501,857 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Comerica Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of CMA stock opened at $64.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10 and a beta of 1.23. Comerica Incorporated has a 1 year low of $45.32 and a 1 year high of $73.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.28.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.16. The company 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 prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comerica declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Comerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 1,392 shares of Comerica stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.83, for a total transaction of $95,811.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $600,885.90. The trade was a 13.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Harry Weber sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.23, for a total transaction of $410,995.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,456 shares of company stock worth $977,287. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Comerica from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group started coverage on Comerica in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “sell” rating and a $64.00 price objective for the company. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Compass Point increased their price target on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Comerica from $71.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.68.

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.