Kesler Norman & Wride LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $515,000.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $1,107,389,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $871,063,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 70.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $544,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 69.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $565,671,000 after purchasing an additional 996,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Egerton Capital UK LLP acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $223,967,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.
CME Group Stock Down 5.2 %
Shares of CME Group stock traded down $13.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $254.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,818,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,078,836. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $272.87. The company has a market capitalization of $91.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $252.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01.
CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. Equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.
CME Group Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's payout ratio is 51.71%.
CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $241.53.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on CME
Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group
In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, 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 worth $6,871,496. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.
CME Group Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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