Smith Group Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,441,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,823,964,000 after purchasing an additional 142,692 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 17.8% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 70.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $544,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in CME Group by 11.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,230,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $492,072,000 after acquiring an additional 237,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,981,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $437,320,000 after acquiring an additional 26,642 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.27.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $234.39 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $249.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.01. The firm has a market cap of $84.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.65, a P/E/G ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $5.80 dividend. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

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.