Verus Capital Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Verus Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP now owns 2,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,818,000 after acquiring an additional 2,052 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,347,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,477,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its holdings in CME Group by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 142,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,181,000 after acquiring an additional 4,100 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $249.85 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $253.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $238.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $228.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.13.

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.