Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 142,692 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 142,692 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.30% of CME Group worth $1,823,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth $596,000. Vestcor Inc raised its holdings in CME Group by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 14,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,195,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in CME Group by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 96,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,198,000 after purchasing an additional 8,968 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in CME Group by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 354,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,203,000 after purchasing an additional 58,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 188.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,028 shares of company stock worth $1,811,681. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $226.20.

CME Group Price Performance

CME opened at $239.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.15, a P/E/G ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $228.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.16. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $249.02.

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

CME Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a dividend of $5.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

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.