Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) by 37.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 278,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 168,053 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.21% of Comerica worth $15,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Comerica in the 4th quarter valued at $80,691,000. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Comerica during the fourth quarter worth about $63,548,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Comerica by 129.3% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,930,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,330 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Comerica by 60.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,605,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $145,444,000 after buying an additional 984,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Comerica by 51.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,564,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,109,000 after buying an additional 870,812 shares during the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comerica Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CMA opened at $53.60 on Monday. Comerica Incorporated has a 52 week low of $37.40 and a 52 week high of $58.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $50.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.58. The company has a market cap of $7.11 billion, a PE ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $812.79 million. Comerica had a return on equity of 15.01% and a net margin of 12.15%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Comerica’s payout ratio is 56.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CMA. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Comerica from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Comerica from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Comerica from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Comerica from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Comerica from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.95.

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.