Legal & General Group Plc Makes New Investment in CME Group Inc. $CME

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,278,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $503,111,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.63% of CME Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CME. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,147,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its position in shares of CME Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in CME Group by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY raised its stake in CME Group by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 1,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $279.17 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $251.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $279.47. The company has a market capitalization of $100.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $218.31 and a fifty-two week high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%.The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 44.11%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the transaction, the director owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group decreased their target price on CME Group from $310.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $316.00 to $323.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $329.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $288.56.

CME Group Company 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.