Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 37.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,845 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $11,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the first quarter worth about $315,000. Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,769,000. Interval Partners LP purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $7,777,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of CME Group by 3.4% during the first quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $969,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,298. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 12.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.47.

CME Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $229.04 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $82.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.08. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $230.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.25 EPS. CME Group’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.