34,514 Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Purchased by World Investment Advisors LLC

World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 34,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,615,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in CME Group by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich grew its position in shares of CME Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 7,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.7% during the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 10.2% in the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on CME. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $226.20.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $235.95 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $228.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $85.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $249.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.25 earnings per share. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,028 shares of company stock valued at $1,811,681 over the last 90 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.