Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $3.40 Million Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 61.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,627 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CME. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC grew its position in CME Group by 6.3% during the third quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth $1,633,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 26.6% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 87.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $247.99 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $89.37 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $253.53. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $237.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $228.44.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. Analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.13.

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.