Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 384,547 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 266.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 529,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 384,547 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in CME Group were worth $122,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Summit Global Investments increased its holdings in CME Group by 62.0% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 2,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 787 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 5.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 24,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp grew its holdings in CME Group by 500.0% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its holdings in CME Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 5,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,212,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YCG LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 5.9% in the third quarter. YCG LLC now owns 128,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,365,000 after purchasing an additional 7,209 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $235.50.

CME Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $254.57 on Monday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $258.78. The company’s 50 day moving average is $240.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.85. 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 $91.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.33, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced 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 analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. This is an increase 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%.

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

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $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 have sold 17,076 shares of company stock valued at $4,271,496 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.