Investment Management Corp of Ontario Raises Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 32.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,870 shares during the quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario's holdings in CME Group were worth $3,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 108.7% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,390 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,453 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $6,144,000. Unified Investment Management purchased a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $503,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased 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 buying an additional 52,862 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CME shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Three 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $256.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.61, for a total value of $1,304,836.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,336 shares in the company, valued at $2,339,164.96. This trade represents a 35.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,134 shares of company stock worth $6,087,434. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock traded up $2.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $276.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,515,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,181,658. The business has a fifty day moving average of $265.86 and a 200-day moving average of $247.18. The stock has a market cap of $99.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.57, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $286.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. CME Group's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.30%.

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.