Boston Trust Walden Corp Boosts Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in CME Group were worth $4,435,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, United Community Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on CME. Raymond James Financial raised CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $282.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $258.20.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $273.99 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $274.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $255.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.74 billion, a PE ratio of 27.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $192.11 and a 12 month high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.71% and a return on equity of 14.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total value of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,900 shares in the company, valued at $1,300,215. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Larry G. Gerdes sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total transaction of $528,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,207,729.10. This trade represents a 4.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,680,610. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.