CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Acquired by Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,107,389,000. LM Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $822,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 23,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,475,000 after acquiring an additional 6,136 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in CME Group by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 24,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,727,000 after purchasing an additional 3,323 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Down 1.1 %

CME stock opened at $262.24 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $250.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $236.53. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $267.91. The company has a market cap of $94.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. On average, research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s payout ratio is 51.71%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on CME shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler boosted 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. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James upgraded CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group 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.