Manitou Investment Management Ltd. Increases Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Manitou Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 29.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 938 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up 0.2% of Manitou Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Manitou Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $1,107,389,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in CME Group by 89.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,921,278 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $871,063,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 32,941.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,858,887 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $493,144,000 after buying an additional 1,853,261 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock traded down $2.25 on Tuesday, reaching $266.10. 2,640,336 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,193,765. The company has a 50 day moving average of $271.81 and a 200 day moving average of $253.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.89 billion, a PE ratio of 27.52, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $290.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James raised CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $258.20.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,471,824. This trade represents a 35.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were 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 $5,686,980. This represents a 31.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,900 shares of company stock worth $6,147,935. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group 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.