KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 121,687 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $28,859,000.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $871,063,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 70.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $544,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $565,671,000 after purchasing an additional 996,498 shares in the last quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $223,967,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 698.0% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $126,384,000 after buying an additional 476,019 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
CME has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup lowered CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.93.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on CME
CME Group Trading Down 0.3 %
Shares of NASDAQ CME traded down $0.87 during trading on Thursday, hitting $261.85. 1,892,901 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,935,108. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $248.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $235.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.36 billion, a PE ratio of 27.08, a P/E/G 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.
CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.
CME Group Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.25 dividend. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 51.71%.
CME Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 21,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,686,980. This trade represents a 31.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the insider now owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.
About CME Group
(
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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