CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Purchased by Independent Wealth Network Inc.

Independent Wealth Network Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 120.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total transaction of $1,019,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,131,291.92. This trade represents a 14.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America increased their price target on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $232.53 on Thursday. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $249.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $83.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $233.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $220.60.

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

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

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.