Sapient Capital LLC Has $1.64 Million Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Sapient Capital LLC cut its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,895 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 51.3% in the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 62.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in CME Group by 9.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 51,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,309,000 after purchasing an additional 4,354 shares in the last quarter. Fruth Investment Management bought a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter worth $220,000. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in CME Group by 0.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 71,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,677,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $241.74 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month 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 firm has a market capitalization of $87.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $235.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.62.

CME Group declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 48.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

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.