Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC Has $6.18 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises 1.6% of Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $6,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. MFA Wealth Services acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $220,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 2,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 55,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,949,000 after purchasing an additional 7,285 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CME. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price for the company. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $233.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.10 billion, a PE ratio of 24.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $233.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $220.69.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $5.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in 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 an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071. 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.