34,126 Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Purchased by Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan

Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 34,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,925,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 120.3% in the 4th 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 period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank raised CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded CME Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $301.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $247.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,686,980. This trade represents a 31.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock traded up $1.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $262.53. 1,794,607 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,142,838. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $273.42. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $256.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $240.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $94.60 billion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

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.