Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 38,446 Shares of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA - Free Report) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 624,654 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 38,446 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of Comerica worth $37,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CMA. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comerica during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Comerica by 39.3% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Comerica in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Comerica in the 2nd quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Comerica by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company's stock.

Comerica Stock Performance

CMA stock traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $62.42. The company had a trading volume of 727,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,207,456. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $66.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current 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 market cap of $8.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 1.23.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $806.49 million. Comerica had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 11.17%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comerica Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Comerica's payout ratio is currently 71.00%.

Comerica announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CMA shares. Wedbush upgraded shares of Comerica from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Comerica from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Comerica from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Comerica from $71.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Compass Point upped their price target on Comerica from $64.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Three 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $67.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Comerica 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 transaction 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James Harry Weber sold 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $997,326.79. This trade represents a 29.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,456 shares of company stock valued at $977,287 over the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.