CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Acquired by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 25.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 898 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Catalina Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $207,000. Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the third quarter valued at $209,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in CME Group by 4.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,570,000 after buying an additional 17,508 shares in the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in CME Group by 116.8% during the 3rd quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Consolidated Planning Corp acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $207,000. 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 stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,076 shares of company stock valued at $4,271,496 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $235.50.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $254.57 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $240.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $258.78.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized 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 an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.