Convergence Investment Partners LLC Buys 717 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 717 shares during the quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 120.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of CME opened at $250.75 on Thursday. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $253.53. The company has a market capitalization of $90.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 6.75 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $236.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $226.85.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. Sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s payout ratio is 51.71%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.13.

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.