PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab Takes $72.87 Million Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 264,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $72,872,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab owned approximately 0.07% of CME Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caldwell Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 116.3% in the third quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $289.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $303.08 and a 200-day moving average of $286.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.23. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $257.17 and a fifty-two week high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. CME Group’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 44.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total value of $1,300,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,317,117.55. This trade represents a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total transaction of $1,097,120.67. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. This represents a 31.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,539 shares of company stock worth $2,713,821. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen cut their price target on CME Group from $340.00 to $323.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on CME Group from $313.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.29.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.