CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Stake Raised by UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $871,063,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 70.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $565,671,000 after buying an additional 996,498 shares in the last quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $223,967,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 698.0% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,384,000 after buying an additional 476,019 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James raised shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.93.

CME Group Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $262.06 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.44 billion, a PE ratio of 27.10, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $267.91. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $247.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $234.95.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group 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.