Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. Increases Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. increased its stock position in CME Group by 34.1% in the 1st quarter, owning 58,690 shares worth approximately $15.57 million.
• CME Group's recent quarterly earnings reported $2.96 earnings per share, beating estimates and showing a 10.4% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 48.40%.

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 34.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,910 shares during the quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $15,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,643,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,190,661,000 after purchasing an additional 400,737 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of CME Group by 89.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,923,047,000 after purchasing an additional 3,921,278 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of CME Group by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,943,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $915,788,000 after purchasing an additional 403,920 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,135,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $728,260,000 after purchasing an additional 621,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in CME Group by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,818,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $747,744,000 after buying an additional 648,591 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.4%

CME stock opened at $282.21 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $275.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $265.90. The stock has a market cap of $101.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.77 and a twelve month high of $290.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of CME Group 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 transaction, the director owned 3,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at $863,651.04. The trade was a 25.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total transaction of $817,680.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,824. This represents a 35.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,576,294. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays set a $298.00 price objective on CME Group and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $261.93.

CME Group Company 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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