CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Holdings Boosted by National Pension Service

National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 786,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 964 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.22% of CME Group worth $182,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 108.7% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,949,000 after acquiring an additional 6,453 shares in the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 40,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,358,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 10,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 2,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on CME. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.13.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 1.1 %

CME Group stock opened at $247.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $89.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $253.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $237.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $228.44.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. As a group, analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

CME Group declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.