Andra AP fonden Grows Stake in CME Group Inc. $CME

Andra AP fonden lifted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 113.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 77,100 shares during the quarter. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in CME Group were worth $39,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Caldwell Trust Co lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 116.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in CME Group in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter worth $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC bought a new stake in CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 3.0%

CME stock opened at $316.45 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $286.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $275.74. The company has a market capitalization of $114.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $247.08 and a 12 month high of $322.57.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research 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 Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 44.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Argus reduced their price target on CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Bank of America lifted their target price on CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total value of $1,300,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,007 shares in the company, valued at $13,317,117.55. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the sale, the director owned 24,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,248 shares of company stock worth $8,355,450. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group 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.