Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Has $904,000 Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 21.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 685 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the third 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. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 120.3% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CME. Barclays lifted 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. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.13.

CME Group Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ CME opened at $256.88 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $92.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $257.78. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $238.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $229.58. 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 (NASDAQ:CME) last released 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

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.