Trust Co. of Vermont Buys 2,829 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,829 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in CME Group were worth $17,997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi increased its holdings in CME Group by 24.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,987,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $548,150,000 after purchasing an additional 385,225 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in CME Group by 8.9% during the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 70,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,106,000 after buying an additional 5,773 shares during the last quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 86.0% during the third quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 29,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,896,000 after buying an additional 13,512 shares during the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 85.2% in the 3rd quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after acquiring an additional 3,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 310.2% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Financial Group LLC now owns 3,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $839,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of CME stock opened at $296.94 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $303.79 and a 200-day moving average of $282.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $248.53 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The company has a market capitalization of $106.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.26.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.59%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total value of $91,770.00. Following the sale, the director owned 24,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $224,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,699 shares in the company, valued at $809,700. The trade was a 21.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,539 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,821. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CME. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $333.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on CME Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $304.06.

CME Group 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.