National Pension Service Acquires 44,487 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its holdings in CME Group by 5.7%, owning approximately 0.23% of the company after acquiring 44,487 shares.
• CME Group reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.96 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.91.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25, translating to an annualized yield of 1.8%.

National Pension Service raised its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 830,533 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 44,487 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.23% of CME Group worth $220,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 86,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,190,000 after purchasing an additional 19,533 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 98,052 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $22,770,000 after purchasing an additional 4,024 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,410 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,021 shares during the period. Finally, Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $2,086,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded down $0.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $273.92. 2,055,786 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,345,811. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $204.16 and a 1-year high of $290.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $275.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $266.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $98.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.52, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.44.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total value of $108,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 6,708 shares in the company, valued at $1,861,470. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total transaction of $294,552.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at $863,651.04. This trade represents a 25.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,450 shares of company stock valued at $676,663. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.