Public Sector Pension Investment Board Reduces Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lessened its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 67.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 62,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 131,300 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in CME Group were worth $13,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 144,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,874,000 after purchasing an additional 7,945 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 215.6% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 8,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,851,000 after purchasing an additional 5,731 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 303,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,923,000 after purchasing an additional 11,300 shares during the period. Capital Counsel LLC NY raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Counsel LLC NY now owns 829,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $182,990,000 after purchasing an additional 3,986 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 49.5% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 23,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,197,000 after purchasing an additional 7,801 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CME. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. TD Cowen began coverage on CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.47.

CME Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $237.33 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $238.12. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $85.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $225.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.73.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors 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 yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,028 shares of company stock valued at $1,811,681. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.