Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Buys 767 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 59.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 767 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,107,389,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $871,063,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 70.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $544,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,119 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 69.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $565,671,000 after acquiring an additional 996,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $223,967,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $254.46 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $252.60 and its 200 day moving average is $237.46. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $273.42. The firm has a market cap of $91.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. 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 (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly 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 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. As a group, research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $241.53.

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.