Allstate Corp Makes New Investment in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,482,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group by 570.6% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $262.22 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $94.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $249.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $235.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $267.91.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.71%.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at $5,686,980. The trade was a 31.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on CME. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.93.

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.