CORDA Investment Management LLC. Has $53.47 Million Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

CORDA Investment Management LLC. lowered its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 230,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,123 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for about 4.3% of CORDA Investment Management LLC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. CORDA Investment Management LLC.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $53,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,818,000 after purchasing an additional 2,052 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,347,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,477,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its position in CME Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 142,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,181,000 after acquiring an additional 4,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 53,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,426,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 0.8 %

CME stock opened at $249.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $238.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $228.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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

CME Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.13.

About CME Group

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.