Intech Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 106.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,332 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $10,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in CME Group by 106.1% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 3,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 9.6% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,545,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 10.1% during the third quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC now owns 2,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the third quarter valued at $670,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 70.6% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 23,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,186,000 after purchasing an additional 9,724 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $263.58 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $264.95. The company has a market cap of $94.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.26, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $243.56 and its 200 day moving average is $232.93.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James raised 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, March 10th. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group 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.