BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Grows Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 26.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,928 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in CME Group were worth $3,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 570.6% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its position in CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 120.3% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME stock traded up $3.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $266.30. 1,707,996 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,154,016. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $273.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.96 billion, a PE ratio of 27.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $258.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $241.50.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays upped their price target on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $252.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496 over the last quarter. 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.