Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Takes Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 41,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,553,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CME. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in CME Group by 570.6% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $268.34 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $286.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $265.08 and a 200 day moving average of $246.25. 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 company has a market capitalization of $96.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.75, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James raised 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 research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $256.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.61, for a total transaction of $1,304,836.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,336 shares in the company, valued at $2,339,164.96. This trade represents a 35.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,726 shares of company stock worth $8,975,813 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.