CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Purchased by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI's holdings in CME Group were worth $11,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 70.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $565,671,000 after purchasing an additional 996,498 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP raised its holdings in CME Group by 698.0% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $126,384,000 after buying an additional 476,019 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 17.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $554,707,000 after purchasing an additional 380,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $79,692,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,076 shares of company stock worth $4,271,496 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CME traded down $1.35 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $253.13. 347,055 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,843,001. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $239.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $91.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $258.78.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. 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. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. CME Group's payout ratio is 51.71%.

CME Group announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" 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 stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $236.13.

CME Group 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.