CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Position Lifted by Oak Harvest Investment Services

Oak Harvest Investment Services lifted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 637 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises 1.8% of Oak Harvest Investment Services’ portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Oak Harvest Investment Services’ holdings in CME Group were worth $12,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 70.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $544,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 21,465.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,072,070,000 after acquiring an additional 483,618 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 698.0% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,384,000 after acquiring an additional 476,019 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in CME Group by 17.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,707,000 after purchasing an additional 380,071 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter worth approximately $79,692,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on CME. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of 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 cut their price target on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $235.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $85.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $234.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $249.02.

CME Group declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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 buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $5.80 per share. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

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.