Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 939,679 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 38.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,366,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 939,679 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.93% of CME Group worth $781,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 3.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,108,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,560,000 after acquiring an additional 37,911 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in CME Group by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 12,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,709,000 after purchasing an additional 2,370 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in CME Group by 2,602.8% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 85,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,857,000 after buying an additional 82,300 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $128,000. Finally, Alethea Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $412,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME opened at $262.22 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $249.65 and its 200 day moving average is $235.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $94.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $267.91.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.71%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $238.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group 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 sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at $5,686,980. This trade represents a 31.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.