Simplicity Solutions LLC Makes New Investment in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)

Simplicity Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 3,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Graypoint LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comerica during the 4th quarter worth $240,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comerica during the 4th quarter worth $10,068,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comerica during the 4th quarter worth $128,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comerica during the 4th quarter worth $110,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comerica during the 4th quarter worth $282,000. 80.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comerica Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE CMA opened at $51.56 on Monday. Comerica Incorporated has a 12 month low of $28.40 and a 12 month high of $57.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $51.38 and a 200-day moving average of $49.36.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.16. Comerica had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 13.11%. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $807.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comerica Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Comerica’s payout ratio is 56.46%.

Insider Transactions at Comerica

In other Comerica news, EVP Wendy Bridges sold 3,034 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was 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 $920,840.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Comerica news, EVP Wendy Bridges sold 3,034 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was 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 $920,840.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Cassandra M. Mckinney sold 1,616 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $454,276.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on CMA. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their target price on Comerica from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Comerica in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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 Comerica from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Comerica from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comerica has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.02.

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.