1,000 Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Purchased by Harbor Advisors LLC

Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 137.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,260,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309,097 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in CME Group by 577.9% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 645,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,872,000 after purchasing an additional 550,133 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,038,676,000 after purchasing an additional 537,758 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 21,465.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,072,070,000 after buying an additional 483,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $79,692,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $235.61 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $225.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $84.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77, a PEG ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $238.97.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 8.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,028 shares of company stock worth $1,811,681 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. TD Cowen began coverage on CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.47.

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.