Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 900 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in CME Group were worth $4,505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,823,964,000 after buying an additional 142,692 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,707,000 after acquiring an additional 380,071 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 70.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $544,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,119 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in CME Group by 11.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,230,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $492,072,000 after acquiring an additional 237,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,981,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $437,320,000 after purchasing an additional 26,642 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 3.0 %

CME stock opened at $248.96 on Thursday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $253.53. The company has a market capitalization of $89.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $235.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.91. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.27.

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.