Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Has $85.06 Million Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 218.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 357,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 245,040 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.10% of CME Group worth $85,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $865,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 36,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,428,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $232.25 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $233.43 and a 200-day moving average of $220.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $249.02. The company has a market capitalization of $83.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $5.80 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered 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 report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.27.

About CME Group

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.