MRP Capital Investments LLC Acquires 70 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

MRP Capital Investments LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 70 shares during the quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network raised its holdings in CME Group by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 2,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,686,980. The trade was a 31.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on CME. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.93.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $266.54 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $245.81 and a 200 day moving average of $233.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $96.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.56, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $267.91.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.71%.

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.