CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Position Increased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,981 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in CME Group were worth $6,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 966.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.70.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME stock opened at $216.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.92. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.73 and a 52 week high of $223.80. The stock has a market cap of $78.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.44, a P/E/G ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 0.49. 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 (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.10. CME Group had a net margin of 57.83% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 EPS. CME Group’s revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 9.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.86%.

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.