First Dallas Securities Inc. Cuts Stake in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)

First Dallas Securities Inc. lowered its position in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) by 24.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,470 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc.’s holdings in Comerica were worth $288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CMA. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in shares of Comerica by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Luken Investment Analytics LLC bought a new position in shares of Comerica during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Comerica during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Comerica by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Comerica in the third quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Comerica

In related news, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 1,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.83, for a total transaction of $95,811.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $600,885.90. This represents a 13.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Comerica Price Performance

CMA opened at $65.97 on Tuesday. Comerica Incorporated has a 52-week low of $45.32 and a 52-week high of $73.45. The stock has a market cap of $8.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $65.07 and a 200 day moving average of $61.39. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.25 by ($0.05). Comerica had a return on equity of 12.04% and a net margin of 13.98%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

Comerica announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Comerica from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Comerica from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Comerica from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Comerica from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, 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 note on Monday, October 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.33.

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.