AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Acquires 52,862 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 326,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 52,862 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises 1.0% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in CME Group were worth $75,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CME. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of CME Group by 6.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,835,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $557,371,000 after purchasing an additional 176,004 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 17.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,707,000 after purchasing an additional 380,071 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 70.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $544,157,000 after buying an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in CME Group by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,230,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $492,072,000 after buying an additional 237,800 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of CME opened at $234.68 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $234.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $221.05. 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 market capitalization of $84.57 billion, a PE ratio of 24.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 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.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current year.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CME. Barclays increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.27.

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.