Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Decreases Stock Holdings in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its stake in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) by 85.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 44,801 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Comerica were worth $468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Comerica in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,144,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Comerica by 8.8% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 274,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,288,000 after buying an additional 22,244 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Comerica by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 35,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,097,000 after buying an additional 3,599 shares during the last quarter. Petiole USA ltd boosted its position in shares of Comerica by 164.7% in the 3rd quarter. Petiole USA ltd now owns 57,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,466,000 after buying an additional 36,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Comerica by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares during the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CMA shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Comerica from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Comerica from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Compass Point increased their target price on Comerica from $64.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Comerica in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Comerica from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.29.

Comerica Stock Performance

NYSE:CMA opened at $60.87 on Wednesday. Comerica Incorporated has a 1-year low of $45.32 and a 1-year high of $73.45. The stock has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $63.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.57.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last posted 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 return on equity of 12.04% and a net margin of 13.98%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.67%. Comerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.57%.

Comerica Company 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.