Vinva Investment Management Ltd Has $4.10 Million Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 17,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in CME Group were worth $4,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 52,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,458 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 106.6% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 47,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,952,000 after purchasing an additional 24,332 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $819,000. Evoke Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 24,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,873,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 6,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $265.47 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $95.66 billion, a PE ratio of 27.45, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $245.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $267.91.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 51.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $238.93.

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.