CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Bought by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,476 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $6,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 570.6% in the fourth 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 period. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $262.24 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $267.91. The stock has a market cap of $94.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $250.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $236.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. 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 declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at $5,686,980. This represents a 31.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.