CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Bought by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 493,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,207 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.14% of CME Group worth $114,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,823,964,000 after acquiring an additional 142,692 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $871,063,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $554,707,000 after purchasing an additional 380,071 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 69.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $565,671,000 after purchasing an additional 996,498 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 70.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $544,157,000 after buying an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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CME Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of CME traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $262.94. The stock had a trading volume of 2,131,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,929,391. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $246.50 and its 200 day moving average is $234.35. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $267.91. The firm has a market cap of $94.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 51.71%.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $238.93.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,686,980. The trade was a 31.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.