Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of CBRE Group Call Options (NYSE:CBRE)

CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 7,359 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 526% compared to the average daily volume of 1,176 call options.

CBRE Group Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE CBRE traded up $1.91 on Thursday, hitting $130.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 447,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,901,103. The company’s 50-day moving average is $137.21 and its 200 day moving average is $131.44. The firm has a market cap of $39.20 billion, a PE ratio of 41.60 and a beta of 1.42. CBRE Group has a 1-year low of $84.24 and a 1-year high of $147.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

CBRE Group (NYSE:CBRE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.12. CBRE Group had a return on equity of 16.96% and a net margin of 2.71%. As a group, analysts predict that CBRE Group will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at CBRE Group

In related news, insider Chad J. Doellinger sold 797 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.31, for a total value of $100,669.07. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,629,517.85. This represents a 2.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Emma E. Giamartino sold 2,000 shares of CBRE Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.69, for a total transaction of $251,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,491,941.67. This trade represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CBRE Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CBRE. State Street Corp raised its holdings in CBRE Group by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,433,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,672,204,000 after purchasing an additional 692,697 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of CBRE Group by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,904,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,035,229,000 after buying an additional 245,821 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in CBRE Group by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,601,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $998,039,000 after buying an additional 177,119 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in CBRE Group by 85.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,587,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $944,435,000 after buying an additional 3,498,244 shares during the period. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in CBRE Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,748,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $623,416,000 after buying an additional 25,142 shares during the period. 98.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CBRE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised CBRE Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded CBRE Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James cut shares of CBRE Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of CBRE Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of CBRE Group in a report on Friday, December 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $176.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.89.

CBRE Group Company Profile

CBRE Group, Inc operates as a commercial real estate services and investment company in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The Advisory Services segment offers strategic advice and execution to owners, investors, and occupiers of real estate in connection with leasing of offices, and industrial and retail space; clients fully integrated property sales services under the CBRE Capital Markets brand; clients commercial mortgage and structured financing services; originates and sells commercial mortgage loans; property management services, such as marketing, building engineering, accounting, and financial services on a contractual basis for owners of and investors in office, industrial, and retail properties; and valuation services that include market value appraisals, litigation support, discounted cash flow analyses, and feasibility studies, as well as consulting services, such as property condition reports, hotel advisory, and environmental consulting.