State of Michigan Retirement System Grows Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in CME Group were worth $21,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 966.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $187.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Argus increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $215.90.

CME Group Stock Up 0.8 %

CME stock opened at $197.08 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.11 and a 52 week high of $223.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.52.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total transaction of $1,501,899.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,153,999.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total transaction of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at $14,226,934.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,290 shares of company stock worth $11,393,700 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group 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.