Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Buys Shares of 28,716 CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. acquired a new stake in CME Group Inc., purchasing 28,716 shares valued at approximately $7,617,000 during the first quarter.
• CME Group recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share, representing a 1.8% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 48.40%.
• The company reported $2.96 EPS for its recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 10.4%.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. bought a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 28,716 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,617,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 86,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,190,000 after acquiring an additional 19,533 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $21,252,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,095,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $254,314,000 after acquiring an additional 29,662 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 14,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,299,000 after acquiring an additional 2,928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norinchukin Bank The boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 16,293 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Down 0.3%

CME opened at $273.92 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.44. The firm's 50 day moving average is $275.52 and its 200-day moving average is $267.59. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $204.16 and a 52-week 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. Analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four research 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $261.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total value of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. The trade was a 12.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of CME Group 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 sale, the general counsel owned 6,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,861,470. This trade represents a 5.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,390 shares of company stock worth $382,110. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.