CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Acquired by Carnegie Investment Counsel

Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 155,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,939 shares during the period. CME Group comprises 0.8% of Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in CME Group were worth $42,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Jessup Wealth Management Inc boosted its holdings in CME Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,197,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.7% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,453,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 2.3% during the first quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its position in CME Group by 2.7% during the second quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in CME Group by 2.0% during the second quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on CME shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on CME Group from $314.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $288.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on CME Group from $282.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $290.82.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total value of $263,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,511.23. This represents a 47.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total transaction of $6,738,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $276.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $99.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.28. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $273.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $224.62 and a 52-week high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.45%.

About CME Group

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.