Vanguard Group Inc. Has $7.95 Billion Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,243,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 326,623 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.50% of CME Group worth $7,952,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 570.6% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $1.33 on Friday, reaching $263.18. 256,760 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,929,204. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 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 $267.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $249.06 and a 200-day moving average of $235.32. The company has a market capitalization of $94.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53.

Remove Ads

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on CME shares. 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 report on Monday, March 10th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.93.

About CME Group

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.