Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,095,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,662 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.30% of CME Group worth $254,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 120.3% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded CME Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $301.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America increased their target price on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on CME Group from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $247.47.

CME Group Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $260.33 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $93.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $273.42. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $257.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.90.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. As a group, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.71%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at $5,686,980. This represents a 31.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.