CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Acquired by First Manhattan CO. LLC.

First Manhattan CO. LLC. increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,791,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 570.6% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 120.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.61, for a total transaction of $1,304,836.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,339,164.96. This represents a 35.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,726 shares of company stock worth $8,975,813 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $284.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $102.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $286.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $264.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $245.67.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. CME Group’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Erste Group Bank upgraded CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group increased their price target on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $256.80.

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.