CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Acquired by Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,024 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $20,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Naples Global Advisors LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $1,823,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $1,074,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in CME Group by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,118,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $223,867,000 after purchasing an additional 46,021 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $27,986,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Argus raised their price target on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $229.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price target (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on CME Group from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.70.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $207.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 589,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,764,209. 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 50-day simple moving average of $214.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.49. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.73 and a 1-year high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 57.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.92 EPS. Analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $1.15 dividend. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.86%.

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.