Maverick Capital Ltd. Makes New $1.15 Million Investment in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)

Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 19,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,150,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Comerica in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Comerica in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Comerica by 39.3% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Comerica by 2,723.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Comerica during the second quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comerica Price Performance

Comerica stock opened at $72.25 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.88. 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 stock has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06 and a beta of 1.22. Comerica Incorporated has a 12-month low of $44.63 and a 12-month high of $73.45.

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

Comerica declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Comerica Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Comerica’s payout ratio is 71.00%.

Insider Activity at Comerica

In related news, 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 transaction of $95,811.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $600,885.90. This trade represents a 13.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James Harry Weber sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.23, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,456 shares of company stock worth $977,287. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CMA. Barclays increased their target price on Comerica from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Comerica from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Comerica from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $51.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Comerica from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Comerica from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Comerica currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.10.

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.