Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $15.64 Million Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,644 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $15,642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 188.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $263.58 on Tuesday. 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 twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $264.95. The company’s fifty day moving average is $243.56 and its 200-day moving average is $232.93. The stock has a market cap of $94.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. Equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized 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 purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment 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 data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.