ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Makes New $5.29 Million Investment in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has made a new investment in CME Group Inc., purchasing 19,937 shares valued at approximately $5.29 million during the first quarter.
• A variety of institutional investors have shown interest in CME Group, with hedge funds collectively owning 87.75% of the company's stock.
• CME Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, which has an annualized yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 48.40%.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 19,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,289,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 122.2% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 612.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total transaction of $108,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 6,708 shares in the company, valued at $1,861,470. This trade represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total value of $817,680.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,471,824. This represents a 35.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,576,294. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CME. Piper Sandler increased their target price on CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $261.93.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $280.95 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $275.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $265.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $101.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $202.35 and a 52-week high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

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.

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