Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Grows Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 48.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the period. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s holdings in CME Group were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in CME Group by 120.3% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:CME opened at $249.85 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $238.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $228.59. The company has a market cap of $90.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $253.53.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.71%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised their target price on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.