Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Buys Shares of 2,216 CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC purchased a new position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $515,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 108.7% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,453 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,144,000. Unified Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $503,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 326,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,730,000 after buying an additional 52,862 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $241.53.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $262.54 on Thursday. 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 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $267.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $251.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.61 billion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. As a group, equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company’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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496 over the last ninety days. 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.