National Pension Service Grows Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

National Pension Service grew its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 927,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,748 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.26% of CME Group worth $250,470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CME. Norges Bank bought a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,571,447,000. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at about $164,648,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 1.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,176,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,695,313,000 after acquiring an additional 532,549 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in CME Group by 131,625.5% during the 2nd quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 486,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $133,970,000 after acquiring an additional 485,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HRT Financial LP bought a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $127,103,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.3%

CME Group stock opened at $289.06 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $233.66 and a 1-year high of $291.76. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $275.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $272.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.01, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.27.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 48.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on CME. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Argus lowered their target price on CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. TD Cowen raised CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $292.18.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the purchase, the director owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total transaction of $263,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,511.23. This represents a 47.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.