1,296 Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Purchased by PGGM Investments

PGGM Investments acquired a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 1,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CME. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter worth $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 966.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth about $40,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Down 0.6 %

CME stock opened at $209.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $75.46 billion, a PE ratio of 23.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $214.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.76. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.73 and a fifty-two week high of $223.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $1.15 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on CME shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CME Group from $198.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $187.00 price target (up from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $217.80.

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.