Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd Buys 3,415 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd grew its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 37.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,415 shares during the period. CME Group makes up about 3.8% of Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $263.35 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $267.91. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $246.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.07. The company has a market capitalization of $94.90 billion, a PE ratio of 27.23, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share 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 predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James raised CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.93.

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.