Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Boosts Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 89.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,921,278 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 2.30% of CME Group worth $1,923,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 52.4% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at about $7,615,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 46,773 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 70.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $544,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Syntax Research Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth $2,540,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock traded up $0.78 during trading on Monday, reaching $267.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 581,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,151,423. The firm has a market cap of $96.24 billion, a PE ratio of 27.63, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $258.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $242.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $273.42.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on CME. UBS Group raised their target price on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James upgraded 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 report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Bank of America boosted their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $256.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About CME Group

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.