Ritholtz Wealth Management Increases Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 417 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in CME Group were worth $937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CME. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 188.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 120.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 52.4% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total value of $1,019,880.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,131,291.92. This trade represents a 14.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $232.71 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.93. 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 $83.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $249.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. CME Group’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.27.

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.