CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Acquired by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 76.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,302 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $8,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Power Corp of Canada purchased a new position in CME Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $215.60 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $211.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.49. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $175.73 and a 52-week high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.63 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on CME. Argus lifted their price target 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. Barclays lifted their target price on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “sell” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Two equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $217.30.

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.