Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Buys 5,284 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 213,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,284 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $56,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 108.7% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,453 shares during the period. Unified Investment Management purchased a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $503,000. Aspire Growth Partners LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $548,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in CME Group by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 43,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 111.2% in the 1st quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after acquiring an additional 1,583 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Larry G. Gerdes sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total transaction of $528,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,651 shares in the company, valued at $10,207,729.10. This represents a 4.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.28, for a total transaction of $271,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $790,781.20. This trade represents a 25.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,400 shares of company stock worth $3,680,610 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Erste Group Bank lowered CME Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $258.20.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $272.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $98.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $274.35 and its 200 day moving average is $255.81. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $192.11 and a 52 week high of $290.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.71% and a return on equity of 14.03%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.30%.

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.