Empowered Funds LLC Increases Stock Position in Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (BATS:CBOE)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (BATS:CBOE) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,082 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Cboe Global Markets were worth $1,861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Cboe Global Markets during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Cboe Global Markets during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Cboe Global Markets during the second quarter valued at about $51,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its stake in Cboe Global Markets by 59.1% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 331 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cboe Global Markets in the third quarter worth $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Cboe Global Markets from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $212.00 to $222.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Cboe Global Markets from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $168.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Cboe Global Markets from $197.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. TD Cowen started coverage on Cboe Global Markets in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Cboe Global Markets from $209.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cboe Global Markets has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jill Griebenow sold 1,622 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.33, for a total value of $346,021.26. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,844 shares in the company, valued at $1,886,690.52. This represents a 15.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Christopher A. Isaacson sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.89, for a total value of $1,229,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 39,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,165,890.95. This trade represents a 13.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,696 shares of company stock valued at $1,591,160. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Cboe Global Markets Trading Up 1.8 %

BATS:CBOE opened at $208.71 on Thursday. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. has a 52 week low of $103.82 and a 52 week high of $139.00. The stock has a market cap of $22.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.58 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $207.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Cboe Global Markets (BATS:CBOE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.03. Cboe Global Markets had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 5.77%. The company had revenue of $532.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $530.46 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.06 earnings per share. Cboe Global Markets’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cboe Global Markets, Inc. will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cboe Global Markets Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Cboe Global Markets’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.97%.

Cboe Global Markets declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, August 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Cboe Global Markets

Cboe Global Markets, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an options exchange worldwide. It operates through six segments: Options, North American Equities, Europe and Asia Pacific, Futures, Global FX, and Digital. The Options segment trades in listed market indices. The North American Equities segment trades in listed U.S.