Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,081 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $2,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.
Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $0.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $254.57. 2,698,449 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,858,343. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $258.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $91.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.33, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $240.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $230.55.
CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.
CME Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.71%.
In related news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value 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. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,076 shares of company stock worth $4,271,496 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.
A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised their target price 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. Citigroup lowered CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $235.50.
View Our Latest Stock Report on CME
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.
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