CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Purchased by Syon Capital LLC

Syon Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the quarter. Syon Capital LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Meritage Portfolio Management acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $274,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 67,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,164,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in CME Group by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,735,000 after buying an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,470,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CME. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Argus increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CME Group from $198.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $217.80.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $210.94 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $214.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.73 and a 52 week high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 9.67 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

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.