Skba Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Skba Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for about 2.7% of Skba Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Skba Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $17,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CME. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 570.6% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ CME opened at $262.22 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.49 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12, a PEG 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. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $267.91. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $249.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $235.87.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CME. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays upped their price target on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James upgraded CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,686,980. This represents a 31.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496. Corporate 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.