Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Purchases 226,306 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 58.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 613,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 226,306 shares during the period. CME Group comprises approximately 1.0% of Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $135,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 66.1% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 515.2% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total transaction of $1,019,880.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,131,291.92. This represents a 14.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,028 shares of company stock worth $1,811,681 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Redburn Atlantic lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.47.

CME Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $246.02 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $227.46 and a 200-day moving average of $212.77. The stock has a market cap of $88.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $249.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 48.37%.

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.