Boston Financial Mangement LLC Boosts Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 287,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,880 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises 2.0% of Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Boston Financial Mangement LLC owned 0.08% of CME Group worth $66,707,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in CME Group by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 133,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,907,000 after purchasing an additional 6,451 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd bought a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,858,000. Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 260.6% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 85,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,765,000 after purchasing an additional 61,510 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 453.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 13,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,118,000 after purchasing an additional 11,001 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $250.75 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $236.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.85. The company has a market capitalization of $90.36 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.75 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $253.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.71%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CME. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Barclays lifted their price objective on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.13.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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.