CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Acquired by World Investment Advisors

World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,573 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in CME Group were worth $8,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 570.6% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 81 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $262.54 on Thursday. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $267.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $251.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 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, equities 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 was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on CME. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $241.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,686,980. The trade was a 31.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.