CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Bought by Guinness Asset Management LTD

Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,035,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 51,509 shares during the period. CME Group makes up about 4.5% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in CME Group were worth $240,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 188.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 120.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 62.2% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 52.4% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:CME opened at $232.71 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $249.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $233.29 and a 200 day moving average of $219.93.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

CME Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Four equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at $2,403,279.44. This represents a 8.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.