CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Holdings Raised by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 354,421 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 58,221 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.10% of CME Group worth $78,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 11.8% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich boosted its position in CME Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 7,667 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its holdings in CME Group by 3.7% in the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 10.2% in the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $226.20.

CME Group Trading Down 2.7 %

CME Group stock traded down $6.64 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $239.38. The stock had a trading volume of 3,162,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,299,977. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $227.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.99. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The company's revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. Analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,028 shares of company stock valued at $1,811,681. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.