Bank of Jackson Hole Trust Buys Shares of 1,323 CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,323 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $307,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 51,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,309,000 after acquiring an additional 4,354 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its stake in CME Group by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 1,236 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 14.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 197,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,594,000 after buying an additional 24,643 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 141.3% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 5,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $260,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $248.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,769,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,808,714. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a PEG ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $253.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $236.87 and a 200-day moving average of $227.00.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. On average, research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board 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 paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.57%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $236.13.

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.