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

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 33,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,054 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $7,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. MayTech Global Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Power Corp of Canada bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 966.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CME. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “sell” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $229.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.70.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $209.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $75.47 billion, a PE ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $214.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.61. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $175.73 and a one year high of $223.80. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.83% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.56 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.86%.

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.