Xponance Inc. Purchases 1,458 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Xponance Inc. boosted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,605 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,458 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $12,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James raised shares of 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $238.93.

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CME Group Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ CME traded down $3.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $263.35. 7,238,569 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,928,580. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $246.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $267.91. The firm has a market cap of $94.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53.

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, 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%. As a group, sell-side 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 will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction 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 represents a 31.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.