NewEdge Wealth LLC Boosts Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 831 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter valued at $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 120.3% in 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 last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % 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. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on CME. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.13.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $253.77 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $254.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day moving average is $238.42 and its 200 day moving average is $229.07. 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 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding 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 management believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. 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. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

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.