Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 58,348 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 296,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 58,348 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.08% of CME Group worth $68,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of a number of research reports. Erste Group Bank raised CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James raised shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.93.

CME Group Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:CME opened at $261.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $235.32. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $267.91. The firm has a market cap of $94.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.08, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. Equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.71%.

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.