CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd trimmed its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 877,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 39,750 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up about 1.0% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned 0.24% of CME Group worth $203,824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,144,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 326,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,730,000 after buying an additional 52,862 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,823,964,000 after acquiring an additional 142,692 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 58.4% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 613,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,441,000 after acquiring an additional 226,306 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CME shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $234.07.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $250.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $90.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $253.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $235.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.08.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. 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 quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

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

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.