QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $6.98 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,251 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $6,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 205,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,310,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its position in CME Group by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 785,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $173,228,000 after purchasing an additional 64,499 shares during the period. Cohen Capital Management Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the period. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its position in CME Group by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 216,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,683,000 after purchasing an additional 8,180 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $225.19 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $230.36. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $221.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.68, a P/E/G ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.73.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total value of $1,019,880.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,131,291.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company 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.