Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. Increases Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $4,788,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 33,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,886,000 after purchasing an additional 3,669 shares in the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in CME Group by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 15,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,697,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $390,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $253.77 on Monday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $254.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $91.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $238.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $229.22.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.13.

CME Group Company 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.