AIA Group Ltd Has $3.28 Million Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

AIA Group Ltd lessened its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 37.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,534 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in CME Group were worth $3,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group 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 completion of 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on CME. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James upgraded 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. Barclays increased their target price on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $241.53.

CME Group Stock Up 0.1 %

CME Group stock traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $262.54. 2,063,572 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,054,602. The stock has a market cap of $94.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $251.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $236.71. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $267.91.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. As a group, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. CME Group's payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

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.