Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Sells 10,402 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd trimmed its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 13.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,402 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in CME Group were worth $20,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 2,075.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership bought a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 325 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the transaction, the director owned 260,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CME Group’s Q2 results topped expectations, and the stock was reported higher on the earnings beat. US Stock Market: CME shares jump 6% after Q2 profit beats estimates; strong hedging demand boosts results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts noted strong fundamentals and at least one rating upgrade following the earnings release, which can support investor confidence. CME Group: Q2 Earnings Results Lead To A Rating Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Hold rating and kept its $260 target, signaling solid fundamentals but limited upside at current valuation. Neutral Stance Reiterated on CME as Solid Fundamentals Meet Valuation Limits; $260 Price Target Maintained
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America and JPMorgan both maintained bearish/underweight views, even though they slightly raised price targets, highlighting ongoing caution about upside. Analyst price target updates
• Negative Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful short position, so this headline is unlikely to be a real stock driver and does not change the core thesis.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. TD Cowen cut their price target on CME Group from $323.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.81.

CME Group Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of CME stock opened at $255.31 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $218.31 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The company has a market capitalization of $92.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $254.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $281.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.18 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.11%.

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.