CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Bought by Naples Global Advisors LLC

Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 150 shares during the quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Avion Wealth boosted its stake in CME Group by 68.1% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich increased its position in shares of CME Group by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 8,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,897,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $292,000. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,378,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $250.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $225.08. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $253.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released 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 net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. Equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. 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 research note on Thursday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $234.07.

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.