Bank of Montreal Can Increases Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,028,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 303,169 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.29% of CME Group worth $224,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 11.8% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich raised its position in CME Group by 0.7% in the second quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 7,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Up 0.1 %

CME opened at $229.37 on Tuesday. 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 capitalization of $82.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $223.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.19. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $230.74.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. 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 company posted $2.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.47.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. This represents a 12.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.