Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Comerica (NYSE:CMA)

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 39,100 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,329% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,736 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Comerica from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens raised 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. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Comerica from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays increased their price target on Comerica from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Comerica from $64.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Comerica currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.27.

Comerica Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Comerica stock opened at $66.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Comerica has a twelve month low of $45.32 and a twelve month high of $73.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.74 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $66.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.85.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.16. Comerica had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 11.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $806.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Comerica will post 5.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comerica announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Comerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James Harry Weber sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $997,326.79. The trade was a 29.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 1,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.83, for a total value of $95,811.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $600,885.90. This trade represents a 13.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,456 shares of company stock worth $977,287 over the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comerica

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CMA. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Comerica in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Comerica during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Comerica by 39.3% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Comerica in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC increased its stake in Comerica by 22.4% during the second quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 202 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.