Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 193,663 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,884 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.05% of CME Group worth $44,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $544,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 21,465.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,072,070,000 after acquiring an additional 483,618 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in CME Group by 698.0% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $126,384,000 after acquiring an additional 476,019 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 17.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $554,707,000 after acquiring an additional 380,071 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $79,692,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
CME has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $234.13.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on CME
CME Group Price Performance
Shares of CME traded up $2.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $247.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,305,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,828,799. The company's 50-day moving average is $236.12 and its 200-day moving average is $226.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $89.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $253.53.
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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current year.
CME Group Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.37%.
CME Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Transactions at CME Group
In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company 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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