Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 845 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 845 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CME. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 106.1% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 3,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 4.2% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $663,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 5.0% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $750,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 35.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 111,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,601,000 after acquiring an additional 29,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.7% during the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group 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 sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 27,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,076 shares of company stock valued at $4,271,496. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CME Group Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ CME opened at $258.68 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $242.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.32. 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 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $263.65. The company has a market capitalization of $93.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53.

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

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised 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. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.93.

CME Group 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.