Comerica Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:CMA)

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders purchased 39,100 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,329% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,736 call options.

Comerica Stock Up 1.2 %

CMA opened at $66.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $66.27 and a 200-day moving average of $57.96. Comerica has a 1-year low of $45.32 and a 1-year high of $73.45.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.16. Comerica had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $806.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Comerica will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Comerica announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase 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 board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Comerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CMA shares. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Comerica from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $51.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Comerica from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wedbush raised shares of Comerica from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Comerica news, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 1,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 8,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $600,885.90. This represents a 13.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bruce Mitchell sold 7,564 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 16,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,021,821.60. The trade was a 31.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,456 shares of company stock valued at $977,287 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comerica

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CMA. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Comerica in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Comerica by 39.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 220,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,262,000 after purchasing an additional 62,269 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in Comerica by 356.5% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 2,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,203 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Comerica by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 243,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,445,000 after purchasing an additional 5,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Comerica by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,834,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $93,621,000 after purchasing an additional 19,068 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

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.