Cumberland Partners Ltd Boosts Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Cumberland Partners Ltd grew its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 720.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,200 shares during the quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caldwell Trust Co raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 116.3% during the third quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. purchased a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC bought a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard bought 251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the purchase, the director owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,699 shares in the company, valued at $809,700. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $302.55 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $281.86 and its 200 day moving average is $274.50. The company has a market cap of $109.10 billion, a PE ratio of 27.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $246.68 and a 1 year high of $309.35.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on CME Group from $300.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on CME Group from $264.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $299.53.

CME Group Company Profile

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.