Appleton Partners Inc. MA Raises Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA increased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 270,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,957,000 after purchasing an additional 10,750 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 197.7% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 53,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,238,000 after acquiring an additional 35,439 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 28,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,969,000 after acquiring an additional 2,591 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 231.8% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 54,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,405,000 after acquiring an additional 37,836 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp grew its stake in CME Group by 118.1% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 126,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,544,000 after buying an additional 68,263 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:CME opened at $223.57 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $80.50 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $211.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.59. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $225.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $212.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CME Group 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.