Hoxton Planning & Management LLC Makes New Investment in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• Hoxton Planning & Management LLC has acquired 991 shares of CME Group Inc., valued at approximately $263,000, marking its first investment in the company during the first quarter.
• Multiple hedge funds have increased their stakes in CME Group, with Price T Rowe Associates boosting its ownership by nearly 90% and owning over 8.2 million shares valued at nearly $1.9 billion.
• CME Group reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.96, exceeding estimates, with a revenue increase of 10.4% year-over-year, amounting to $1.69 billion.

Hoxton Planning & Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 991 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in CME Group by 89.9% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 3,921,278 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its position in shares of CME Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,081,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $947,821,000 after acquiring an additional 61,908 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 403,920 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 648,591 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CME. Citigroup upped their price objective on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays set a $298.00 price objective on CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $261.93.

CME Group Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of CME stock opened at $278.28 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $276.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $263.55. The company has a market cap of $100.28 billion, a PE ratio of 26.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.25 and a fifty-two week high of $290.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total value of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. This trade represents a 12.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total value of $294,552.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at $863,651.04. The trade was a 25.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,400 shares of company stock worth $2,881,130. Corporate 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.

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