Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 18.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,169,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 343,498 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.60% of CME Group worth $503,939,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in CME Group by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $241.53.
View Our Latest Research Report on CME
CME Group Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ CME traded down $13.90 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $254.46. 5,818,885 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,078,836. The company has a market cap of $91.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.31, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $252.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $237.18. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $272.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02.
CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
CME Group Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 51.71%.
CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group
In related news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,686,980. This trade represents a 31.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
CME Group Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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