CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Bought by Simon Quick Advisors LLC

Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 28.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $354,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $544,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 11.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,038,676,000 after acquiring an additional 537,758 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 21,465.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,072,070,000 after acquiring an additional 483,618 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 698.0% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,384,000 after acquiring an additional 476,019 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in CME Group by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,707,000 after purchasing an additional 380,071 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $233.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $249.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.69. The company has a market capitalization of $84.10 billion, a PE ratio of 24.54, a P/E/G ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

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.