CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Bought by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 75.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 547,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 236,017 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.15% of CME Group worth $117,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $782,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 4.3% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 1.1% during the first quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 4,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Greystone Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 3,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $691,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CME. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $212.64.

CME Group Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of CME traded up $1.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $200.54. The stock had a trading volume of 1,259,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,521,588. The company has a market cap of $72.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 6.61 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $199.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.93. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $223.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.79 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total transaction of $1,501,899.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,153,999.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,290 shares of company stock valued at $11,393,700 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company 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.