Bailard Inc. Boosts Holdings in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)

Bailard Inc. grew its stake in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) by 231.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,100 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Comerica were worth $717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in shares of Comerica by 300.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comerica during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Comerica by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Comerica during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Comerica by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CMA. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Comerica from $76.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised shares of Comerica to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Comerica from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Comerica from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Comerica from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.57.

Comerica Price Performance

NYSE:CMA opened at $62.66 on Tuesday. Comerica Incorporated has a 52 week low of $45.32 and a 52 week high of $73.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.28. The company has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48 and a beta of 1.25. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Comerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.57%.

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

Comerica 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.