American Century Companies Inc. Grows Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,587 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $12,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 2,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $262.24 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $94.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $250.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $236.53. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $267.91. 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 (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank upgraded CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Raymond James raised CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.93.

About CME Group

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.