945 Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Acquired by Impact Capital Partners LLC

Impact Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $871,063,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $544,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,119 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 69.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $565,671,000 after acquiring an additional 996,498 shares during the period. Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $223,967,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP boosted its holdings in CME Group by 698.0% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,384,000 after buying an additional 476,019 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $258.68 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $263.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $242.80 and its 200 day moving average is $232.32.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,076 shares of company stock valued at $4,271,496 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $238.93.

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.