CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 422,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,736 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of CME Group worth $98,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its holdings in CME Group by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 2,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $247.86 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $253.53. The stock has a market cap of $89.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.06, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $236.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CME shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $234.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.