Rafferty Asset Management LLC Purchases 5,049 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 127,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,049 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $29,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CME. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 570.6% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 2.9%

CME Group stock opened at $274.00 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $265.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $246.70. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $286.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.34, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 50.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,134 shares of company stock valued at $6,087,434 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $256.80.

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.