Vident Advisory LLC Has $3.97 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 125.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,508 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $3,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CME. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 570.6% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock traded up $2.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $284.07. 2,323,467 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,191,674. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $286.48. The firm has a market cap of $102.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.38, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $267.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $249.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.30%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $81,951.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,767 shares in the company, valued at $6,765,601.39. The trade was a 1.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,384 shares of company stock worth $7,531,053 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CME. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.