Pictet North America Advisors SA Buys 293 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Pictet North America Advisors SA increased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,837,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of CME Group by 9.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 51,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,309,000 after acquiring an additional 4,354 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in CME Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 71,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,677,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. acquired a new position in CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $662,000. Good Life Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $469,000. Finally, Inlet Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 32,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,234,000 after buying an additional 3,970 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME opened at $250.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $235.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.08. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $253.53. 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 (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results 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 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. Equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CME shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $234.07.

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.