Empowered Funds LLC Buys 1,987 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 28.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,987 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 570.6% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in CME Group by 188.4% in the third 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 period. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position 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 worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $234.13.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $245.48 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $235.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $225.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.46 billion, a PE ratio of 25.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $253.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.71%.

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.