Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares have weakened in each of the last four trading days, and are once again trending lower today with the stock down 31c or 0.4%.
Since setting an all-time high price of $82.685 exactly one week ago today, the stock has steadily fallen backwards and is now trading at just $81.29. That's a loss of 1.7%, which is in line with the 1.7% fall experienced by the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO).
While there has been no specific explanation for the bank's recent fall, there are plenty of possible reasons. For starters, the stock has jumped an incredible 18.7% over the last 12 months and is currently trading on a projected P/E ratio of 15.2, which is well above its 10-year average.
Alternatively, the appeal of the stock's fully franked dividend yield might no longer be enough to keep investors buying. It currently yields just 4.6%, which isn't even as high as those offered by the bank's primary rivals, being National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) or Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ).
Is this the end of Commonwealth Bank's dream run?
In my opinion, there is a good possibility the fall over the last week will only be temporary and the stock could meet new highs over the coming weeks. However, I also believe that investors buying today are paying far too much for a stock with limited upside potential.
