CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Holdings Boosted by Motley Fool Asset Management LLC

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,843 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in CME Group by 23.9% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 12,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,709,000 after acquiring an additional 2,370 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $335,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 11,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,631,000 after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prevatt Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Prevatt Capital Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,098,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.1 %

CME Group stock opened at $262.54 on Thursday. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $267.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $94.61 billion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $251.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $236.71.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.71%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays increased their price target on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $241.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,686,980. This represents a 31.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.