Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 38.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,366,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 939,679 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.93% of CME Group worth $781,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Financial LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $661,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the period. St. James Investment Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,878,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 202.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 564,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $130,983,000 after acquiring an additional 377,414 shares during the period. Skba Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Skba Capital Management LLC now owns 73,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 26,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,198,000 after purchasing an additional 4,476 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.
CME Group Stock Down 2.6 %
Shares of NASDAQ CME traded down $6.88 during trading on Friday, reaching $261.48. 2,944,818 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,068,268. The company has a market capitalization of $94.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The business's 50-day moving average price is $252.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $236.93. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $272.87.
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 net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.
CME Group Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.71%.
CME Group announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday. Erste Group Bank raised CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $241.53.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on CME
Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group
In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of CME Group 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
CME Group Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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