CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Position Raised by Marathon Asset Management Ltd

Marathon Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 179,712 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 26,913 shares during the quarter. Marathon Asset Management Ltd's holdings in CME Group were worth $42,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CME. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 20,116 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,788,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. grew its stake in CME Group by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 33,956 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,886,000 after purchasing an additional 3,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in CME Group by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,213,000 after buying an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company'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 value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on CME shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $236.13.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME traded up $3.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $256.88. 2,640,327 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,841,551. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business's 50-day moving average price is $238.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $229.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $258.39.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share 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 analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

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.