PDS Planning Inc Boosts Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

PDS Planning Inc lifted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 182 shares during the quarter. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in CME Group were worth $585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Leelyn Smith LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 11,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,646,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,220,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 7,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,642,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 93,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,731,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pollock Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $1,157,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.93.

CME Group Stock Up 1.1 %

CME opened at $266.49 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $244.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $96.03 billion, a PE ratio of 27.56, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $266.93.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued 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, research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.71%.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $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.