Fiera Capital Corp Has $767.71 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Fiera Capital Corp boosted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,305,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for 2.4% of Fiera Capital Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Fiera Capital Corp’s holdings in CME Group were worth $767,708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CME. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,144,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in CME Group by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its stake 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 worth $75,730,000 after purchasing an additional 52,862 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,823,964,000 after purchasing an additional 142,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 58.4% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 613,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,441,000 after purchasing an additional 226,306 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CME. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME stock opened at $248.96 on Thursday. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $253.53. The firm has a market cap of $89.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $235.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.91.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. On average, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

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.