Northcape Capital Pty Ltd Takes $2.68 Million Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Northcape Capital Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,677,000. CME Group accounts for approximately 0.3% of Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 5.0% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 3.9% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in CME Group by 0.3% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $215.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 746,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,770,407. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $175.73 and a one year high of $223.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $211.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.49.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.10. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 57.83%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “sell” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Argus increased their target price on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.