CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Holdings Increased by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 18.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,169,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 343,498 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in CME Group were worth $503,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CME. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 188.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 50.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,686,980. This represents a 31.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CME. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Erste Group Bank raised CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $241.53.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $262.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $94.61 billion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $251.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $236.71. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $267.91.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

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.