Pictet North America Advisors SA Has $3.84 Million Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Pictet North America Advisors SA lifted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 293 shares during the quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 570.6% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 120.3% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of CME opened at $250.11 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $253.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $235.74 and a 200-day moving average of $225.08.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. 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 report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $234.07.

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.