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

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 5,664 call options on the company. This is an increase of 62% compared to the average volume of 3,495 call options.

Comerica Stock Down 0.8 %

Comerica stock opened at $62.59 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $66.54 and its 200 day moving average is $59.77. Comerica has a 12-month low of $45.32 and a 12-month high of $73.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a PE ratio of 15.65 and a beta of 1.26.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $806.49 million. Comerica had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 12.54%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Comerica will post 5.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.54%. Comerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.00%.

Comerica announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Comerica news, EVP Bruce Mitchell sold 7,564 shares of Comerica stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.20, for a total transaction of $470,480.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,021,821.60. The trade was a 31.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 dated 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 in the company, valued at $997,326.79. The trade was a 29.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,456 shares of company stock valued at $977,287. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comerica

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Comerica by 134.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 856,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,309,000 after buying an additional 490,468 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Comerica during the second quarter worth $4,767,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Comerica by 158.2% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 20,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 12,454 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Comerica by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,306,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $257,975,000 after purchasing an additional 226,285 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Comerica by 390.6% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 761,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,628,000 after acquiring an additional 606,375 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on CMA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Comerica from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Comerica from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $71.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Comerica from $64.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Comerica from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Comerica from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.14.

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.