CCLA Investment Management Increases Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

CCLA Investment Management increased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 566,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,951 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises approximately 2.4% of CCLA Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. CCLA Investment Management owned about 0.16% of CME Group worth $152,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 206.9% during the 2nd quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 84.3% during the second quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new position in CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in CME Group in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in CME Group by 59.2% in the 2nd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $269.09 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $272.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $271.73. The stock has a market cap of $97.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.07, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.28. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $224.62 and a 52 week high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 58.84%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. On average, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William R. Shepard bought 262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the acquisition, the director owned 258,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,540,742.21. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total value of $6,738,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,737,468.20. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CME. Barclays increased their price target on CME Group from $280.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $290.47.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.