Savant Capital LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $9,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in CME Group by 31.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,858,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $972,863,000 after buying an additional 1,163,103 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $113,772,000. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter worth about $86,424,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 31.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,605,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $321,395,000 after buying an additional 386,730 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 6.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,465,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $693,847,000 after buying an additional 217,101 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $209.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $75.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $214.65 and a 200 day moving average of $211.69. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.73 and a twelve month high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on CME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $187.00 target price (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $217.80.

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.