CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Bought by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 67,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,644 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $15,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CME. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in CME Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 2,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In other news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Down 1.2 %

CME Group stock traded down $3.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $263.35. 7,237,476 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,925,202. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $267.91. The company's fifty day moving average price is $245.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.74. The company has a market cap of $94.90 billion, a PE ratio of 27.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Barclays boosted their price target on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $238.93.

CME Group Company 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.