SageView Advisory Group LLC Buys 2,153 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 71.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,166 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,153 shares during the quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $1,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in CME Group by 570.6% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 120.3% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at $5,686,980. The trade was a 31.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $263.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $247.47.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock traded up $1.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $262.53. 1,794,607 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,142,838. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $273.42. The company has a market cap of $94.60 billion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $256.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $240.16. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.25 dividend. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. CME Group's payout ratio is 51.71%.

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.