Level Four Advisory Services LLC Acquires 789 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in CME Group by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $262.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $94.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50-day moving average of $249.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $235.63. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $267.91.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. As a group, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.25 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

CME Group announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays boosted 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, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About CME Group

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.