Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 106.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,162 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 24,332 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $10,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages recently commented on CME. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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, February 19th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $238.93.
Get Our Latest Analysis on CME Group
Insider Buying and Selling
In other CME Group news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,686,980. This trade represents a 31.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 valued at $6,871,496 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.
CME Group Stock Performance
NASDAQ CME traded down $3.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $263.35. 7,238,569 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,925,544. The company has a market cap of $94.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $267.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $246.50 and a 200 day moving average of $234.07. 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 (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.
CME Group Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared 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 a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.71%.
CME Group announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
CME Group Company 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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