CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Bought by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 108.7% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,949,000 after acquiring an additional 6,453 shares during the last quarter. Unified Investment Management acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $503,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in CME Group by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its stake in CME Group by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 326,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,730,000 after purchasing an additional 52,862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspire Growth Partners LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $548,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $277.87 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $266.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $247.92. The firm has a market cap of $100.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $286.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on CME shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on CME Group from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays upped their price target on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Raymond James upgraded CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $256.80.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $81,951.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,765,601.39. This represents a 1.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 27,494 shares of company stock worth $7,281,618. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About CME Group

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.