Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Has $33.18 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 142,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,100 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $33,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CME. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter worth $1,633,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 26.6% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 87.5% in the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 1.1 %

CME Group stock opened at $247.99 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $89.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $237.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $228.44. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $253.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.13.

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.