13,865 Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Acquired by Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC

Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 13,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,220,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CME. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in CME Group by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 7,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 6,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,438,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Monte Financial Group LLC grew its position in CME Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Monte Financial Group LLC now owns 21,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,015,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $234.68 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $234.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $221.24. The company has a market capitalization of $84.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.68, a P/E/G ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. 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 of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding 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 an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total value of $1,019,880.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,053 shares in the company, valued at $6,131,291.92. This trade represents a 14.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,008 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America increased their target price on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.27.

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.