SRS Capital Advisors Inc. Has $382,000 Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7,056.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares during the quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meyer Handelman Co. bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $6,144,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in shares of CME Group by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its position in shares of CME Group by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 326,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,730,000 after acquiring an additional 52,862 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of CME Group by 41.8% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,028,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,432,000 after acquiring an additional 303,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,823,964,000 after purchasing an additional 142,692 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $256.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $92.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, a PEG ratio of 6.76 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 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $257.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $238.80 and its 200 day moving average is $229.58.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (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, sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding 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 an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.13.

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.