CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Acquired by Carnegie Investment Counsel

Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 834 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CME. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $313,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 47,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,359,000 after buying an additional 1,294 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in CME Group by 23.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,069,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,328,000 after acquiring an additional 203,251 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in CME Group by 16.0% in the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $937,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $232.71 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $233.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $219.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $249.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

CME Group declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $5.80 dividend. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

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.