SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 13,110.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 291,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 289,353 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $67,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $508,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $283,000. Viking Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,131,000. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 5,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,210,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,131,291.92. The trade was a 14.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $232.53 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $83.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $233.55 and a 200 day moving average of $220.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $249.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 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.