Northern Trust Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,943,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 403,920 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.09% of CME Group worth $915,788,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CME. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 52.4% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,615,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in CME Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 46,773 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,613 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $544,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Syntax Research Inc. acquired a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,540,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:CME opened at $267.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $259.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $242.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.71, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $273.42.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's payout ratio is 50.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on CME Group from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America upped their price target on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $256.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,076 shares of company stock worth $7,399,696 in the last three months. 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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