PGGM Investments Invests $273,000 in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

PGGM Investments acquired a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co lifted its holdings in CME Group by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 7,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,628,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in CME Group by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 979,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $206,257,000 after buying an additional 22,035 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $309,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $295,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $209.62 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $214.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.76. 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 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $175.73 and a 52-week high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $198.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $217.80.

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.