Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 200 Shares of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Comerica were worth $242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its position in Comerica by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Comerica during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Comerica by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Comerica in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Comerica by 74.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comerica Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of CMA opened at $65.97 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.68 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 1.25. Comerica Incorporated 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 1.09.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Comerica declared that its board 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 purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America downgraded Comerica from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Comerica from $64.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Comerica from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comerica

In related news, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 1,392 shares of Comerica stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.83, for a total transaction of $95,811.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $600,885.90. The trade was a 13.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.