Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Acquires 91 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in CME Group were worth $279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 570.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 120.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $253.77 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $238.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $229.07. The company has a market cap of $91.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $254.40.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.25 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

CME Group declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their price target on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler boosted 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, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.