AGF Management Ltd. Trims Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

AGF Management Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 23.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,820 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $6,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Markel Group Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $697,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 223,822 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,978,000 after purchasing an additional 7,721 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in CME Group by 77.6% in the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,431 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $308,000. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 1,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.93.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,076 shares of company stock worth $4,271,496. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $256.72 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $92.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company's 50 day moving average is $241.74 and its 200 day moving average is $231.77. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $263.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.71%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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