First PREMIER Bank Has $442,000 Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

First PREMIER Bank decreased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 63 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank’s holdings in CME Group were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Independent Wealth Network Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 2,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $623,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 55,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,949,000 after acquiring an additional 7,285 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 13,110.7% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 291,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,709,000 after acquiring an additional 289,353 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnus Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $283,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ CME opened at $232.53 on Thursday. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02. The business’s fifty day moving average is $233.64 and its 200 day moving average is $220.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $83.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 0.56.

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

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $5.80 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was 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 $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted 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. Four equities 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

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.