Koa Wealth Management LLC Lowers Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Koa Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,298 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for about 1.6% of Koa Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Koa Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 570.6% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 188.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in CME Group by 120.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 62.2% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on CME. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $235.92 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $234.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.08. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week 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 company has a market cap of $85.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $5.80 per share. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.