VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC Makes New Investment in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $357,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CME. Peoples Bank OH acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $203,000. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 287,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,707,000 after purchasing an additional 4,880 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of CME Group by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 133,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,907,000 after purchasing an additional 6,451 shares during the last quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,858,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 260.6% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 85,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,765,000 after buying an additional 61,510 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of CME opened at $248.88 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $253.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $237.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $227.36. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. Sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current 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 given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.57%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note 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 on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About CME Group

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.