Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC lessened its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 28.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,050 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,765 shares during the period. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $1,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 70.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $544,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,038,676,000 after purchasing an additional 537,758 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 21,465.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,072,070,000 after buying an additional 483,618 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter valued at about $79,692,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
In other news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. The trade was a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
CME has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They set a "hold" rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. Redburn Atlantic cut CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $244.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $229.27.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on CME
Shares of CME stock opened at $232.31 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.43, a PEG ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $232.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.42. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02.
CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. CME Group's quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.
CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $5.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from CME Group's previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 48.37%.
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.
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