964,421 Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Purchased by Egerton Capital UK LLP

Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 964,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $223,967,000. CME Group makes up approximately 2.6% of Egerton Capital UK LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Egerton Capital UK LLP owned 0.27% of CME Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 5.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 24,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,510,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 6.8% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,505,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its stake in CME Group by 106.1% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 3,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth approximately $337,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Barclays raised their target price 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. Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.93.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, 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 transaction of $997,872.48. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,076 shares of company stock valued at $4,271,496 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.7 %

CME opened at $260.43 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $241.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $231.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.93, a P/E/G 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 $263.65.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

CME Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.