Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Grows Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in CME Group were worth $232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CME. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the first quarter worth $28,000. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in CME Group by 966.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the first quarter worth $41,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $199.83 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $223.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company’s 50-day moving average is $198.38 and its 200 day moving average is $206.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 0.52.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.8 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Terry L. Savage sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.65, for a total transaction of $526,625.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,441 shares in the company, valued at $3,673,946.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,399,936.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Terry L. Savage sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.65, for a total transaction of $526,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,673,946.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,290 shares of company stock worth $2,957,300 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CME. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $187.00 price target (up from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $212.64.

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.