Pinebridge Investments L.P. Boosts Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 193,973 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 35,572 shares during the quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. owned about 0.05% of CME Group worth $45,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CME. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 108.7% during the 4th 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. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,144,000. Unified Investment Management bought a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $503,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in shares of CME Group by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its holdings in CME Group by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 326,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $75,730,000 after acquiring an additional 52,862 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,686,980. The trade was a 31.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.3 %

CME stock traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $267.08. 586,921 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,399,498. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.62, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $242.09. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $273.42.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James raised CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $256.80.

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.