8,000 Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Bought by Cumberland Partners Ltd

Cumberland Partners Ltd 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 Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 8,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,858,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CME. Creative Planning raised its stake in CME Group by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 51,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,309,000 after purchasing an additional 4,354 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its holdings in CME Group by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 1,236 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in CME Group by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 197,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,594,000 after acquiring an additional 24,643 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 141.3% during 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 during the period. Finally, Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $248.48. 854,124 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,778,710. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.73, a P/E/G ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $253.53. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $227.00. 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 (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, beating 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%. Analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.57%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding 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 typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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 boosted their target price on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" 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 company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.