First Affirmative Financial Network Has $497,000 Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

First Affirmative Financial Network grew its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in CME Group were worth $497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baron Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $207,000. Gries Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 78.6% during the fourth quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 1,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 95,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,179,000 after purchasing an additional 24,455 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 90,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,924,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,441,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $232.50 on Thursday. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $249.02. The company has a market cap of $83.78 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $234.31 and a 200-day moving average of $222.01. 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 Increases Dividend

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

CME Group declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in 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 generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Piper Sandler boosted their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.