Modern Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 182 shares during the quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $262.06 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $94.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $247.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.95. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $267.91.

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

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays increased their target price on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $238.93.

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.