Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its position in shares of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) by 90.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 142,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,289,255 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.11% of Comerica worth $8,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in Comerica by 31.3% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,408,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $144,312,000 after buying an additional 574,516 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Comerica by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 413,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,784,000 after purchasing an additional 87,310 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Comerica by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Comerica by 158.2% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 20,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 12,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Comerica by 38.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 43,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,596,000 after purchasing an additional 11,981 shares during the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 1,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.83, for a total transaction of $95,811.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $600,885.90. This represents a 13.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bruce Mitchell sold 7,564 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,428 shares in the company, valued at $1,021,821.60. The trade was a 31.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,456 shares of company stock valued at $977,287 over the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Comerica Stock Up 3.2 %

CMA opened at $71.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Comerica Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $42.55 and a fifty-two week high of $71.63. The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.10 and a 200-day moving average of $56.22.

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

Comerica declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Comerica Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Comerica’s payout ratio is presently 71.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on CMA. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Comerica from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Stephens increased their price target on Comerica from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on Comerica from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 research note on Friday, November 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.43.

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.