Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Boosts Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 303,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,300 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.08% of CME Group worth $66,923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CME. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $82,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,488,000. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 17,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,673,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $15,017,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. The trade was a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

CME Group Price Performance

CME opened at $234.39 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $235.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $224.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.37. The company has a market capitalization of $84.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.65, a PEG ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

CME Group Company 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.