Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $31.79 Million Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 136,909 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,399 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $31,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 50.0% during 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 period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, 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 value of $271,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,915 shares in the company, valued at $790,781.20. The trade was a 25.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,726 shares of company stock worth $8,975,813. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $2.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $284.35. 953,386 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,155,183. The stock has a market cap of $102.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.41, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $286.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $264.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $245.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. CME Group's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays upped their price target on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.