Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Purchases 2,735 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 182,706 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,735 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina owned 0.05% of CME Group worth $42,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,107,389,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $871,063,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,003,119 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Egerton Capital UK LLP purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $223,967,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James upgraded CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley raised CME Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $301.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $263.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $247.47.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $264.58. 644,119 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,133,976. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $273.42. 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 $95.34 billion, a PE ratio of 27.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $255.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $239.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. Equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.71%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of CME Group 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % 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 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.