Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Increases Stake in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA - Free Report) by 61.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 93,396 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 35,470 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina owned 0.07% of Comerica worth $5,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CMA. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Comerica by 364.5% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,112 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 2,442 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Comerica by 25.2% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 12,568 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $753,000 after buying an additional 2,530 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Comerica by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,111,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $126,555,000 after buying an additional 29,661 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Comerica by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 10,095 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Comerica during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company's stock.

Comerica Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CMA traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $52.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,293,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,206,163. The company has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $58.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Comerica Incorporated has a 52 week low of $45.32 and a 52 week high of $73.45.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by ($0.05). Comerica had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 12.04%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Comerica's payout ratio is currently 56.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMA has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Comerica from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Comerica from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Argus upgraded Comerica to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Comerica from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of Comerica from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $66.00 to $64.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Comerica currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $68.16.

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.