CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Bought by Fayez Sarofim & Co

Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,523,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 53,389 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co owned 0.42% of CME Group worth $353,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CME. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of CME Group stock traded up $3.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $266.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,709,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,154,016. The company's 50-day moving average is $258.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $241.50. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $273.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $95.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.54, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. Analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. CME Group's payout ratio is 51.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $252.44.

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.