Greystone Financial Group LLC Acquires 93 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Greystone Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Greystone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 188.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 120.3% during 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. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $248.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $89.69 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $237.10 and a 200-day moving average of $227.36. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $253.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 47.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company 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 issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.13.

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.