BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Increases Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 26.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,928 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,299,000 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 CME. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 570.6% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its position in CME Group by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in CME Group by 120.3% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were 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 owns 21,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,686,980. This represents a 31.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at $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 ninety days, insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Erste Group Bank raised CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on CME Group from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $247.47.

CME Group Stock Up 0.4 %

CME opened at $262.53 on Monday. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $273.42. The company has a market cap of $94.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.15, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $257.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $240.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

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.