Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Buys New Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 70.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $544,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,038,676,000 after buying an additional 537,758 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 21,465.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,072,070,000 after buying an additional 483,618 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 17.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,707,000 after acquiring an additional 380,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth about $79,692,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total value of $1,019,880.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,131,291.92. This represents a 14.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $232.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average is $233.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.35. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $249.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About CME Group

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.