Norinchukin Bank The Acquires 1,431 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Norinchukin Bank The boosted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,431 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 10.3% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 96,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,198,000 after purchasing an additional 8,968 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth $7,615,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.6% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 46,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,320,000 after buying an additional 1,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 70.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $544,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,119 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $262.53 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $273.42. The company has a market capitalization of $94.60 billion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $257.19 and a 200-day moving average of $240.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CME shares. Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on CME Group from $263.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $247.47.

CME Group Company Profile

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.