CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 899,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 80,755 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.25% of CME Group worth $208,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $254.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $91.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $273.42. The company’s fifty day moving average is $252.60 and its 200-day moving average is $237.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. Equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 1.96%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on CME shares. Raymond James upgraded CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $241.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496 over the last three months. Company 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.