Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 40.1% in the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 17,377 shares valued at $4,611,000.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded CME Group's target price from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating, amidst a mix of ratings from various research firms.
• CME Group announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, with a total annualized dividend of $5.00 and a yield of 1.80%.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 40.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,377 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,976 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $4,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 89.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,923,047,000 after buying an additional 3,921,278 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,081,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $947,821,000 after acquiring an additional 61,908 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in CME Group by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,943,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $915,788,000 after buying an additional 403,920 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in CME Group by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,135,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $728,260,000 after acquiring an additional 621,713 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in CME Group by 29.9% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,818,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $747,744,000 after purchasing an additional 648,591 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total transaction of $294,552.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,108 shares in the company, valued at $863,651.04. This trade represents a 25.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total value of $817,680.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,824. The trade was a 35.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,400 shares of company stock worth $2,881,130. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded up $2.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $280.76. 3,011,041 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,073,115. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.18, a PEG ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $276.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $263.89. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.62 and a twelve month high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays set a $298.00 price target on CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $261.93.

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.