Canopy Partners LLC Buys New Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Canopy Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,107,389,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $871,063,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 70.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $544,157,000 after buying an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 69.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $565,671,000 after buying an additional 996,498 shares during the period. Finally, Egerton Capital UK LLP purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $223,967,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,686,980. This trade represents a 31.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Stock Down 0.8 %

CME stock opened at $252.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $90.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.10, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $273.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $252.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $237.72.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $263.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $242.60.

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.