CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Acquired by Thornburg Investment Management Inc.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,292,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 28,500 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for about 4.0% of Thornburg Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.36% of CME Group worth $300,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,339 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in CME Group by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 11,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,635,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in CME Group by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 4,035 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $937,000 after buying an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $301,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $256.80.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total value of $817,680.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,824. The trade was a 35.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 27,884 shares of company stock worth $7,389,843. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of CME stock traded up $3.87 on Wednesday, hitting $281.74. 2,220,835 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,183,065. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $286.48. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $266.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $247.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.14, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

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.