Beacon Financial Group Makes New $292,000 Investment in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Beacon Financial Group purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.8% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 142,692 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,707,000 after purchasing an additional 380,071 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,230,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $492,072,000 after purchasing an additional 237,800 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,981,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $437,320,000 after buying an additional 26,642 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $248.96 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $89.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $253.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $235.62 and a 200-day moving average of $224.91.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. Sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current year.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

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.