Donaldson Capital Management LLC Has $40.62 Million Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 192,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,235 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises approximately 1.8% of Donaldson Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Donaldson Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of CME Group worth $40,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Power Corp of Canada purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the first quarter valued at $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at $25,000. MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 966.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in CME Group by 65.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded CME Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $229.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on CME Group from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $215.70.

CME Group Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded down $3.27 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $206.23. 1,976,772 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,780,803. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $74.24 billion, a PE ratio of 23.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.49. The company's fifty day moving average is $214.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.60. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.73 and a fifty-two week high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 57.83%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. On average, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.86%.

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.