Bogart Wealth LLC Reduces Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Bogart Wealth LLC lowered its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 546 shares during the period. CME Group makes up approximately 0.7% of Bogart Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Bogart Wealth LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $15,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 207,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,505,000 after buying an additional 2,382 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on CME shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $234.07.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $250.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 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 has a 50 day moving average of $235.74 and a 200 day moving average of $225.08.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS 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, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

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

CME Group 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.