Sylvest Advisors LLC Takes $995,000 Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Sylvest Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,283 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $995,000. CME Group comprises approximately 0.6% of Sylvest Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 120.3% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler raised 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. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $236.52 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $234.73 and a 200-day moving average of $222.45. The company has a market cap of $85.23 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $249.02.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $5.80 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group's previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.