Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) Shares Sold by Everence Capital Management Inc.

Everence Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA - Free Report) by 58.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,650 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Comerica were worth $419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Comerica by 33.0% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 369,415 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,855,000 after buying an additional 91,626 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Comerica by 186.8% during the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 32,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,643,000 after buying an additional 20,974 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Comerica by 40.4% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,600,000 after acquiring an additional 9,016 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Comerica by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 37,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,893,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its stake in Comerica by 1,404.8% in the second quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 81,816 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,176,000 after purchasing an additional 76,379 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bruce Mitchell sold 7,564 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.20, for a total value of $470,480.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,428 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,021,821.60. The trade was a 31.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Harry Weber sold 6,500 shares of Comerica stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.23, for a total transaction of $410,995.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at $997,326.79. This trade represents a 29.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,456 shares of company stock valued at $977,287. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Comerica Price Performance

NYSE CMA traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $63.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,369,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,224,282. Comerica Incorporated has a twelve month low of $45.32 and a twelve month high of $73.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm's 50 day moving average is $66.53 and its 200 day moving average is $59.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77 and a beta of 1.26.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $806.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comerica announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Comerica's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CMA. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Comerica from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Comerica from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Comerica from $64.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 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 report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Comerica from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $67.77.

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.