Signaturefd LLC Has $1.14 Million Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc boosted its stake in CME Group by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 693,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,068,000 after buying an additional 93,713 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $502,000. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in CME Group by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,073,000 after acquiring an additional 1,085 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $229.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price target (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Argus raised their price objective on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on CME Group from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.70.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $213.04 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.02, a PEG ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $214.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $175.73 and a one year high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.10. CME Group had a net margin of 57.83% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.92 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.86%.

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.