Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Comerica (NYSE:CMA)

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 5,664 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 62% compared to the average daily volume of 3,495 call options.

Comerica Price Performance

CMA stock traded down $0.21 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $62.86. The company had a trading volume of 414,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,005,258. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50 day moving average of $66.54 and a 200 day moving average of $59.67. Comerica has a fifty-two week low of $45.32 and a fifty-two week high of $73.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $806.49 million. Comerica had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 12.54%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Comerica will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Comerica announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Comerica Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Comerica’s payout ratio is currently 71.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on CMA. StockNews.com raised shares of Comerica from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Comerica from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Comerica from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Comerica from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Comerica from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $55.00 to $52.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Comerica has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.14.

Insider Activity at Comerica

In other Comerica news, EVP James Harry Weber sold 6,500 shares of Comerica stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.23, for a total transaction of $410,995.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $997,326.79. The trade was a 29.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 1,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 8,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $600,885.90. The trade was a 13.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,456 shares of company stock worth $977,287. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comerica

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CMA. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Comerica in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Comerica in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Comerica by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Comerica during the second quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Comerica by 400.0% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.