EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 47.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CME. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 120.3% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,076 shares of company stock worth $4,271,496 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on CME. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their target price 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, Raymond James upgraded CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.93.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $258.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $93.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $242.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $232.45. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $263.65.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.71%.

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.