Sylvest Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Sylvest Advisors LLC bought a new position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 4,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $995,000. CME Group makes up about 0.6% of Sylvest Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,144,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 58.4% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 613,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,441,000 after acquiring an additional 226,306 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,823,964,000 after purchasing an additional 142,692 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in CME Group by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,028,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,432,000 after buying an additional 303,169 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 18.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,826,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $403,017,000 after purchasing an additional 283,171 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.3 %

CME Group stock opened at $236.52 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $249.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $234.73 and a 200 day moving average of $222.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

CME Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, January 6th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.