Townsend & Associates Inc Buys 1,571 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Townsend & Associates Inc increased its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 77,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,571 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up approximately 1.8% of Townsend & Associates Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings in CME Group were worth $17,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 570.6% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 188.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 120.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.13.

CME Group Trading Up 0.2 %

CME opened at $248.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $89.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $253.53. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $237.10 and a 200 day moving average of $227.53.

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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.57%.

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.