Saxon Interests Inc. Raises Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Saxon Interests Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 919 shares during the quarter. Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $301,000. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,158,000. Everpar Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Central Valley Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 7,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,655,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cohen Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $233.84 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $232.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $219.42. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $249.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $84.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $5.80 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.