Gries Financial LLC Purchases 755 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Gries Financial LLC boosted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 78.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 755 shares during the period. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 95,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,179,000 after acquiring an additional 24,455 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden increased its holdings in CME Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 90,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,924,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,441,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 2,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $235.92 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $249.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $234.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $222.08. The firm has a market cap of $85.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $5.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 48.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.