LGT Group Foundation Acquires New Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

LGT Group Foundation bought a new position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC now owns 1,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 8,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,750,000 after acquiring an additional 1,301 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 56,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,824,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 214,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,125,000 after buying an additional 10,497 shares during the period. Finally, Berry Wealth Group LP purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,377,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $207.65 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $74.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.62, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $214.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.64. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.73 and a fifty-two week high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Argus raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $198.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $217.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total transaction of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.