CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Purchased by Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 58.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 613,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 226,306 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for 1.0% of Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC owned 0.17% of CME Group worth $135,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 2.7% during the second quarter. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $606,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of CME Group by 8.3% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 68,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,489,000 after acquiring an additional 5,273 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.6% in the second quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 18,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,613,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in CME Group by 3.8% in the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. The trade was a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,028 shares of company stock worth $1,811,681. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $246.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.66 billion, a PE ratio of 25.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.56. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $249.02. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $227.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.77.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group declared that its board has approved 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 purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $224.47.

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.