Bridgewater Associates LP Makes New Investment in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)

Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new position in shares of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 12,025 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $720,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its position in shares of Comerica by 4.9% in the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 237,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,130,000 after acquiring an additional 11,049 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Comerica by 66.2% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 62,868 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,209,000 after acquiring an additional 25,040 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Comerica by 39.3% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 220,659 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,262,000 after acquiring an additional 62,269 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Comerica in the second quarter valued at $4,767,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Comerica by 1.1% in the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,834,304 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $93,621,000 after acquiring an additional 19,068 shares in the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Bruce Mitchell sold 7,564 shares of Comerica stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.20, for a total value of $470,480.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,021,821.60. This trade represents a 31.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Harry Weber sold 6,500 shares of Comerica stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was 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 owns 15,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $997,326.79. The trade was a 29.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,456 shares of company stock worth $977,287 in the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CMA shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Comerica from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Stephens increased their target price on Comerica from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson increased their target price on Comerica from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Comerica from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Comerica from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.05.

Comerica Stock Down 0.3 %

CMA stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $70.80. 984,369 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,101,995. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Comerica Incorporated has a 12-month low of $45.32 and a 12-month high of $73.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $64.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62 and a beta of 1.23.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.16. Comerica had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 11.17%. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $806.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.37 EPS for the current year.

Comerica declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. Comerica's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.00%.

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.