Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd Buys 3,415 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd boosted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 37.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,606 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,415 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for 3.8% of Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd's holdings in CME Group were worth $2,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network increased its position in CME Group by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 2,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $238.93.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $262.72. 1,909,575 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,935,818. The company's 50 day moving average is $247.77 and its 200 day moving average is $234.95. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $267.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.67 billion, a PE ratio of 27.17, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. 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 data 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 51.71%.

CME Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at $5,686,980. The trade was a 31.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.