Sapient Capital LLC Purchases New Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 9,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CME. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in CME Group in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of 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. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 1,233.3% during the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $207.65. 2,065,362 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,765,130. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $214.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $74.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.62, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.48. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $175.73 and a one year high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CME Group from $198.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays increased their price target on CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased 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 assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $217.80.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.