Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. Buys 294 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. raised its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 20.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 570.6% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 188.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 120.3% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.13.

CME Group Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $247.99 on Thursday. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $253.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $237.86 and a 200-day moving average of $228.44. 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 $89.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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 a boost 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business’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 transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.