Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Acquires 1,201 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 34.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,201 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $1,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 21,465.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,072,070,000 after purchasing an additional 483,618 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 476,019 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $554,707,000 after buying an additional 380,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at $79,692,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Down 1.9 %

CME traded down $4.63 on Monday, reaching $245.48. 1,444,259 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,792,499. The company has a market cap of $88.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $235.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $226.00. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $253.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted 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 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program 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 programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CME. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Piper Sandler increased 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $234.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group 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.