CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Purchased by Kathmere Capital Management LLC

Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 158.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,808 shares during the quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Caldwell Trust Co grew its position in shares of CME Group by 116.3% during the third quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new stake in CME Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new position in CME Group in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on CME. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $333.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on CME Group from $302.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.06.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $293.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $105.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.24. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $248.53 and a 52-week high of $329.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $302.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $281.58.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.52 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.59%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total value of $1,097,120.67. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,397,597.04. The trade was a 31.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the acquisition, the director owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 8,539 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,821 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.