Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Buys 33,169 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 192,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,169 shares during the quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY owned about 0.05% of CME Group worth $50,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brookmont Capital Management raised its position in CME Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brookmont Capital Management now owns 5,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY boosted its position in CME Group by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 1,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 5,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME stock opened at $308.06 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $110.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $277.37 and its 200-day moving average is $279.18.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 63.33%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.35 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 42.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Terrence Duffy sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total value of $4,116,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,630 shares in the company, valued at $11,150,497.20. This trade represents a 26.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Elizabeth Cook sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.11, for a total transaction of $140,055.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,916 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,450.76. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,900 shares of company stock valued at $4,377,655. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CME. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded CME Group from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $367.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on CME Group from $292.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on CME Group from $337.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. CLSA set a $367.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 target price (up from $295.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $313.29.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that provide trading, clearing and settlement services for futures and options contracts. Its products cover major asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy and metals. The company also provides market data, benchmark information and related services used by financial institutions, corporations, producers, investors and other market participants.

CME Group’s exchange portfolio includes CME, the Chicago Board of Trade, the New York Mercantile Exchange and COMEX.