CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Position Increased by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 493,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 55,980 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.14% of CME Group worth $114,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock traded down $13.90 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $254.46. 5,818,885 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,079,247. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $252.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $236.93. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $272.87. The firm has a market cap of $91.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.31, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

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CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. 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. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.71%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $241.53.

CME Group 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.