GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Grows Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA grew its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in CME Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 11.8% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 7,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on CME. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $224.47.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. This represents a 12.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $227.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $82.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.93, a P/E/G ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $222.80 and its 200 day moving average is $210.53. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $230.36.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.25 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

About CME Group

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.