Morgan Stanley Cuts Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Price Target to $71.00

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) had its price target trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $76.00 to $71.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on CMA. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Comerica from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Comerica to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Comerica from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Comerica from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Comerica from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Comerica has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.33.

Comerica Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CMA opened at $63.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $8.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Comerica has a 12 month low of $45.32 and a 12 month high of $73.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.95.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by ($0.05). Comerica had a return on equity of 12.04% and a net margin of 13.98%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Comerica will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Comerica Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.49%. Comerica’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comerica

In other news, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 1,392 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $600,885.90. This represents a 13.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comerica

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMA. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Comerica by 26.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 21,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after buying an additional 4,499 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Comerica by 11.8% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 7,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Comerica by 188.9% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 91,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,645,000 after purchasing an additional 59,500 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Comerica by 198.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 117,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,001,000 after purchasing an additional 78,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Comerica by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 118,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,055,000 after purchasing an additional 20,920 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.