Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Purchases 8,394 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 16.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,394 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in CME Group were worth $17,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CME. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 2,075.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Up 0.0%

CME stock opened at $255.36 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $253.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $281.17.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%.The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $329.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.81.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total value of $1,752,536.39. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at $60,050,111.94. This represents a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.