CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Purchased by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 614,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 57,439 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $142,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,144,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in CME Group by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its position in CME Group by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 326,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,730,000 after purchasing an additional 52,862 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in CME Group by 41.8% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,028,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,432,000 after purchasing an additional 303,169 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 1.8% in the third 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 buying an additional 142,692 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $256.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $238.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $229.58. The stock has a market cap of $92.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $257.78.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Citigroup lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.13.

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.