Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Acquires 1,290 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,290 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in CME Group were worth $11,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 59.1% in the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 50.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 34,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,514,000 after acquiring an additional 11,462 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 6.4% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd raised its stake in CME Group by 112.6% in the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 8,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,872,000 after acquiring an additional 4,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 267.1% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 2,049 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.2 %

CME Group stock opened at $244.83 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $235.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.63.

CME Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. 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. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays boosted 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. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.27.

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.