Unified Investment Management Makes New Investment in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Unified Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $503,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CME. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,003,119 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 69.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $565,671,000 after purchasing an additional 996,498 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 698.0% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,384,000 after buying an additional 476,019 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $554,707,000 after buying an additional 380,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at $79,692,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on CME. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on 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 target on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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 issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.13.

CME Group Stock Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ CME opened at $253.77 on Monday. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $254.40. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $238.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.22. The firm has a market cap of $91.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted 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 net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.71%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Company Profile

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.