Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Takes $308,000 Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted 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 worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 8.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised 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 worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 2,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 owns 21,885 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 17,076 shares of company stock valued at $4,271,496. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Down 1.4 %

CME Group stock opened at $256.72 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $241.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $231.77. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $263.65. The company has a market cap of $92.51 billion, a PE ratio of 26.55, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

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CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.25 per share. 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 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on CME. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised their price target on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.93.

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.

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