ICW Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $266,000.
A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $871,063,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 70.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $544,157,000 after buying an additional 1,003,119 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $565,671,000 after buying an additional 996,498 shares in the last quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $223,967,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP lifted its stake in CME Group by 698.0% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $126,384,000 after acquiring an additional 476,019 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.93.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on CME Group
CME Group Stock Performance
CME stock traded up $1.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $263.24. 334,591 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,149,215. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $267.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $235.32.
CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.
CME Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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 programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.
CME Group Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's payout ratio is 51.71%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, 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 value of $2,600,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,686,980. The trade was a 31.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
CME Group Company 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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