Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 266.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 529,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 384,547 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.15% of CME Group worth $122,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 570.6% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 188.4% in 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 last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 120.3% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $238.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,076 shares of company stock valued at $4,271,496 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of CME stock traded up $7.71 on Monday, hitting $262.28. The stock had a trading volume of 4,407,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,868,540. The company's 50 day moving average price is $240.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $231.22. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $262.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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%. Analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. 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 yield of 1.91%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 51.71%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Company 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.