Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Raises Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,826,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 283,171 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.51% of CME Group worth $403,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in CME Group in the second quarter worth $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 66.1% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 515.2% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $76,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen started coverage on CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $221.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of 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, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $224.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. This represents a 12.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. This represents a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME traded up $2.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $229.04. 3,049,526 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,917,887. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $223.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.07. The stock has a market cap of $82.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $230.74.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

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.