Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Purchases 173 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 16.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in CME Group were worth $246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,491,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,134,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of CME Group by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,069,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,328,000 after acquiring an additional 203,251 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 11,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 1,311,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $257,836,000 after acquiring an additional 46,276 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $214.76 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $223.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.33 billion, a PE ratio of 24.43, a P/E/G ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $207.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $207.59.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America downgraded shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $212.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.73.

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.