CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Purchased by ORG Partners LLC

ORG Partners LLC raised its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 225.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. 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 last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 11.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,038,676,000 after purchasing an additional 537,758 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,835,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $557,371,000 after purchasing an additional 176,004 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $554,707,000 after purchasing an additional 380,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $544,157,000 after buying an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. This represents a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $229.20 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $232.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $218.54. The company has a market cap of $82.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.10, a P/E/G ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $249.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a dividend of $5.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on CME Group from $237.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Redburn Atlantic lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.53.

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.