Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $3.40 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 61.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,627 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CME. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,823,964,000 after purchasing an additional 142,692 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 17.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $554,707,000 after purchasing an additional 380,071 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $544,157,000 after buying an additional 1,003,119 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of CME Group by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,230,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $492,072,000 after buying an additional 237,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,981,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $437,320,000 after buying an additional 26,642 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CME Group Stock Down 1.1 %

CME Group stock opened at $247.99 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company’s 50-day moving average is $237.86 and its 200-day moving average is $228.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.37 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $253.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on CME. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.13.

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.