PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its position in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,231 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Comerica were worth $2,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMA. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in Comerica by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 63,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,485,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Comerica by 105.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 182,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,031,000 after acquiring an additional 3,595,036 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its position in Comerica by 2.1% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 150,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,282,000 after acquiring an additional 3,076 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Comerica in the first quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Comerica in the first quarter valued at approximately $11,872,000. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on CMA. Bank of America downgraded shares of Comerica from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Comerica from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Comerica from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $50.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Wedbush upgraded Comerica from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $52.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Comerica from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $51.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comerica has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.43.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bruce Mitchell sold 7,564 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,021,821.60. This trade represents a 31.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 1,392 shares of Comerica stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.83, for a total value of $95,811.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $600,885.90. The trade was a 13.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,456 shares of company stock valued at $977,287. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Comerica Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CMA opened at $72.79 on Tuesday. Comerica Incorporated has a 1-year low of $42.55 and a 1-year 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $63.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.57 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20 and a beta of 1.22.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) 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 company had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $806.49 million. Comerica had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 11.17%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.37 EPS for the current year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Comerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.00%.

Comerica declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.