Empire Life Investments Inc. Has $19.59 Million Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Empire Life Investments Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 84,337 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,271 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $19,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 9.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 51,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,309,000 after acquiring an additional 4,354 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its position in CME Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 71,050 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,677,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the third quarter worth about $469,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.4% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 51,724 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,413,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.9% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 51,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,463,000 after purchasing an additional 948 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CME. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley increased 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 note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $236.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock traded up $2.90 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $250.75. 1,171,264 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,827,433. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $236.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $226.68. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $253.53. The firm has a market cap of $90.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 6.75 and a beta of 0.57.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.25 per share. 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 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.57%.

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

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.