United Community Bank Purchases Shares of 160 CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

United Community Bank purchased a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $37,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,823,964,000 after purchasing an additional 142,692 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $871,063,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $554,707,000 after acquiring an additional 380,071 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 69.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $565,671,000 after acquiring an additional 996,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 70.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $544,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 0.2 %

CME stock opened at $254.57 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $91.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. 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 $258.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $240.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.85.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. As a group, analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $235.50.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $997,872.48. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,076 shares of company stock worth $4,271,496 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company 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.