Metis Global Partners LLC Grows Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $4,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,823,964,000 after purchasing an additional 142,692 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 17.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,707,000 after buying an additional 380,071 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 70.4% in the third 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. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in CME Group by 11.9% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,230,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $492,072,000 after acquiring an additional 237,800 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,981,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $437,320,000 after acquiring an additional 26,642 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $253.77 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $238.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $229.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $254.40.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group announced that its board has approved a stock 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are 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 given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on CME. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Piper Sandler increased their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.