Postrock Partners LLC Makes New Investment in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Postrock Partners LLC acquired a new position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CME. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $871,063,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 70.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $544,157,000 after buying an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its position in CME Group by 69.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $565,671,000 after buying an additional 996,498 shares during the last quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $223,967,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 698.0% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,384,000 after acquiring an additional 476,019 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,076 shares of company stock worth $4,271,496 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME opened at $259.84 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $242.28 and a 200-day moving average of $231.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $263.65. The company has a market cap of $93.64 billion, a PE ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James raised shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler boosted their price target 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.93.

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.