CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Acquired by West Michigan Advisors LLC

West Michigan Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,852,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $243,000. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $1,024,000. Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in CME Group by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 9,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,191,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. acquired a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $107,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in CME Group by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $823,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays upped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.13.

CME Group Stock Up 1.6 %

CME stock opened at $253.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $254.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $238.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $228.92. The stock has a market cap of $91.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

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 issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.71%.

CME Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.