South Dakota Investment Council Lowers Stock Holdings in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)

South Dakota Investment Council cut its stake in shares of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 161,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,500 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council owned approximately 0.12% of Comerica worth $9,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Comerica during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Comerica during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comerica in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comerica in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Comerica during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Comerica Stock Performance

NYSE:CMA traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $52.75. The company had a trading volume of 632,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,102,528. The firm has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 1.27. Comerica Incorporated has a 1-year low of $28.40 and a 1-year high of $57.39. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $51.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.16. Comerica had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 16.51%. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $807.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Comerica Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Comerica’s payout ratio is 56.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on CMA. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Comerica in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Comerica from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Comerica from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Comerica from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.50 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Comerica from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.89.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Wendy Bridges sold 3,034 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.74, for a total value of $160,013.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $920,840.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Wendy Bridges sold 3,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.74, for a total value of $160,013.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $920,840.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Cassandra M. Mckinney sold 1,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.64, for a total value of $88,298.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $454,276.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.