1,520 Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Purchased by Hilltop Holdings Inc.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $335,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 2.7% in the second quarter. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in CME Group by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 68,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,489,000 after acquiring an additional 5,273 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC grew its position in CME Group by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 18,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,613,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in CME Group by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 35.6% during the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 987,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $194,571,000 after purchasing an additional 259,152 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Down 2.7 %

CME opened at $239.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $86.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.17, a PEG ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $249.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $227.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $212.77.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,028 shares of company stock valued at $1,811,681. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.47.

About CME Group

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.