CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Holdings Raised by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $610,482,000. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 31.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,858,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $972,863,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,103 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 261.4% in the third quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,280,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $256,320,000 after purchasing an additional 925,939 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in CME Group by 90.0% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,218,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $225,771,000 after buying an additional 577,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in CME Group by 992.8% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 623,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $119,508,000 after buying an additional 566,899 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $215.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $77.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $210.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.73 and a fifty-two week high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.10. CME Group had a net margin of 57.83% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CME. Argus upped their target price on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “sell” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $217.30.

CME Group 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.