CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Purchased by Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 101,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in CME Group were worth $23,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 141.3% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,019,000 after acquiring an additional 5,359 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 24.9% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at $209,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 3.9% in the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,460,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Ridge Investment Management grew its position in shares of CME Group by 78.6% in the third quarter. Eagle Ridge Investment Management now owns 123,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,197,000 after purchasing an additional 54,238 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $248.88 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $237.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $227.36. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $253.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a PEG ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.57. 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 (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. This is a positive change 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 47.57%.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lifted 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.