Pollock Investment Advisors LLC Invests $1.16 Million in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Pollock Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,157,000. CME Group accounts for 0.9% of Pollock Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 570.6% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 188.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays upped their target price on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.93.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,076 shares of company stock worth $4,271,496 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:CME opened at $258.68 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $242.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.45. The company has a market cap of $93.22 billion, a PE ratio of 26.75, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $263.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

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, 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%. Analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company 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. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 51.71%.

CME Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group 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.