O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 20.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,476 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $6,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 50.0% in 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 period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James raised shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.93.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $262.24 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $267.91. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $250.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $236.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $94.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders 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 an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

CME Group announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 27,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496. 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.