Dearborn Partners LLC Has $3.31 Million Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Dearborn Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 450.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,818 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,307,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Norges Bank bought a new stake in CME Group in the second quarter valued at about $1,571,447,000. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 7,676.3% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 2,205,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $584,975,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,685 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 370.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,653,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $704,068,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089,935 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in CME Group by 185.5% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,244,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $330,182,000 after acquiring an additional 808,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 1.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,176,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,695,313,000 after purchasing an additional 532,549 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $266.33 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $271.54 and its 200-day moving average is $272.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $96.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.28. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $224.62 and a 12-month high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 258,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,540,742.21. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total value of $98,475.57. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,470,463.64. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,147 shares of company stock worth $562,079 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price on CME Group from $298.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on CME Group from $313.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 10th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on CME Group from $282.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.18.

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.