Convergence Investment Partners LLC Makes New Investment in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 5,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,144,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CME. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in CME Group by 31.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,858,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $972,863,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163,103 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $113,772,000. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter valued at $86,424,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in CME Group by 31.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,605,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $321,395,000 after acquiring an additional 386,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in CME Group by 6.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,465,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $693,847,000 after acquiring an additional 217,101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.8 %

CME stock traded down $1.60 during trading on Friday, reaching $210.94. The stock had a trading volume of 1,353,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,722,282. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $175.73 and a one year high of $223.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company’s 50 day moving average is $214.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.87. The company has a market capitalization of $75.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 0.49.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $187.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $198.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $217.80.

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.