Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC Has $29.23 Million Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,860 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises approximately 0.4% of Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $29,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $871,063,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,003,119 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $565,671,000 after buying an additional 996,498 shares during the period. Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $223,967,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP increased its holdings in CME Group by 698.0% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,384,000 after buying an additional 476,019 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 note on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. 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 research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, 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 research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $238.93.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $258.68 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $263.65. The company has a market cap of $93.22 billion, a PE ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $242.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.58.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. Equities analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 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 generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.