CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Acquired by Man Group plc

Man Group plc lifted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 192,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,049 shares during the period. Man Group plc’s holdings in CME Group were worth $44,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 108.7% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,949,000 after acquiring an additional 6,453 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,144,000. Unified Investment Management purchased a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $503,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in CME Group by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its position in CME Group by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 326,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,730,000 after purchasing an additional 52,862 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $266.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $286.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $265.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.39. The firm has a market cap of $95.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.54, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share 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 given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.61, for a total transaction of $1,304,836.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,339,164.96. This trade represents a 35.81% 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 Dennis Suskind sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.28, for a total transaction of $271,280.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $790,781.20. The trade was a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,134 shares of company stock worth $6,087,434 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays raised their price target on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.