Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 2,791 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 410,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,791 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of CME Group worth $110,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,660,000 after buying an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Clarius Group LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 41.2% during the second quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 140.0% in the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 2,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 32.6% in the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 15,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,359,000 after purchasing an additional 3,887 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Argus lowered their price target on CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on CME Group from $282.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $302.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Nine equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $292.18.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total value of $6,738,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,737,468.20. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% 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 Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of CME stock opened at $290.77 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $238.12 and a fifty-two week high of $293.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.85 billion, a PE ratio of 28.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $275.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.39.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.45%.

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.