Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Buys 807 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Archford Capital Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 6,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,438,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Monte Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Monte Financial Group LLC now owns 21,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,015,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 326,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,730,000 after purchasing an additional 52,862 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 570.6% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total value of $1,019,880.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares in the company, valued at $6,131,291.92. This trade represents a 14.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were 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 owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 8.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,900 shares of company stock worth $1,336,008 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $236.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $249.02. The company has a market capitalization of $85.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $234.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.43.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Four research 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 MarketBeat, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

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.