Focus Partners Wealth Increases Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 165,834 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,007 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in CME Group were worth $38,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CME. Ellevest Inc. lifted its position in CME Group by 72.6% in the fourth quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 1,773 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Emmett Investment Management LP bought a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $5,544,000. Ethic Inc. lifted its position in CME Group by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 53,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,410,000 after buying an additional 14,519 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co lifted its position in CME Group by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 3,143 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $730,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. lifted its position in CME Group by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 7,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,791,000 after buying an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Down 0.8%

CME stock traded down $2.06 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $266.28. 2,483,107 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,175,894. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $286.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $265.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $246.25. The company has a market capitalization of $95.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued 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 is Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James upgraded CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $256.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.61, for a total transaction of $1,304,836.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,339,164.96. The trade was a 35.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.28, for a total value of $271,280.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at $790,781.20. This trade represents a 25.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,726 shares of company stock valued at $8,975,813 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.