Vision Financial Markets LLC Acquires New Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 15,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,669,000. CME Group makes up 3.9% of Vision Financial Markets LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CME. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,613 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,975,000 after buying an additional 1,251 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 77.8% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $207,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $254.48 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $239.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $230.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $91.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $258.78.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. On average, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $1.25 dividend. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. CME Group's payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their target price on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup lowered CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $236.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,076 shares of company stock worth $4,271,496. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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