Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 1,003,119 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 70.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.67% of CME Group worth $544,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in shares of CME Group by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 30,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,156,000 after buying an additional 3,325 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 58.4% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 613,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,441,000 after buying an additional 226,306 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 40.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,112,000 after buying an additional 3,112 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 149.4% in the 2nd quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 23,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,671,000 after buying an additional 14,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in CME Group by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,826,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $403,017,000 after buying an additional 283,171 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of CME opened at $237.19 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $249.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $229.18 and its 200-day moving average is $213.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $5.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,028 shares of company stock worth $1,811,681 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased 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. Piper Sandler increased their target price on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their price target on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $226.20.

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.