Bessemer Group Inc. Purchases 901,425 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 4,216.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 922,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 901,425 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.26% of CME Group worth $214,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in CME Group by 287.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 186,608 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,175,000 after buying an additional 138,412 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 9.7% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in CME Group by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 96,069 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,198,000 after purchasing an additional 8,968 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc boosted its stake in CME Group by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 14,478 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,195,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Finally, Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $596,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 have sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on CME Group from $263.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $247.47.

CME Group Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded up $3.02 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $264.56. 879,353 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,134,149. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $273.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $255.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $239.24. The company has a market cap of $95.34 billion, a PE ratio of 27.36, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.