CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Acquired by Banque Pictet & Cie SA

Banque Pictet & Cie SA increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,998 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA's holdings in CME Group were worth $15,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter worth $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 570.6% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 120.3% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CME. Barclays lifted their target price on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $234.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME traded up $2.38 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $247.86. 1,316,699 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,848,600. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $253.53. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $236.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $226.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Company 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.