Donaldson Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 216,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,180 shares during the period. CME Group makes up about 1.8% of Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $47,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 515.2% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CME. TD Cowen initiated coverage on CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.73.

CME Group Stock Down 0.8 %

CME Group stock opened at $223.61 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $80.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.51, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $230.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $220.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $209.49.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. CME Group’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,298. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other CME Group news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,298. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,221 shares of company stock valued at $3,351,895. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Company 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.