Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC Has $1.03 Million Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC decreased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 54 shares during the period. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FourThought Financial Partners LLC grew its position in CME Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 40,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,358,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 10,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 2,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,728,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $250.82 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $237.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.30. The company has a market cap of $90.39 billion, a PE ratio of 25.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $253.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company 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 $1.25 dividend. 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 1.99%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four 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, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.