HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Increases Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 76,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for about 1.0% of HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $18,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its position in CME Group by 108.7% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,453 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $6,144,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its position in shares of CME Group by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 326,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,730,000 after buying an additional 52,862 shares during the period. Finally, Unified Investment Management acquired a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $503,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on CME. Erste Group Bank upgraded CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $238.93.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $262.22 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $249.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.87. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $267.91. The company has a market capitalization of $94.49 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. Analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

CME Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.