CME Group Inc. $CME Stock: Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Grows Stake

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 69,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,448 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $18,093,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $6,749,965,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in CME Group in the second quarter valued at about $867,313,000. Alphabet Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth $769,376,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the second quarter worth approximately $629,771,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in CME Group in the second quarter valued at $622,679,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded CME Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings raised CME Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $270.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on CME Group from $315.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.44.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $309.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $110.63 billion, a PE ratio of 25.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.15. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $218.31 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $283.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $281.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results 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 company 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 earned $2.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.34 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.66%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.70, for a total value of $1,493,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,037 shares in the company, valued at $5,985,051.90. The trade was a 19.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel Kaye sold 532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.17, for a total value of $161,818.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,313 shares in the company, valued at $1,311,885.21. This trade represents a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 33,511 shares of company stock worth $9,714,580 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group operates a global marketplace for derivatives and other financial products. Through its exchanges—CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX—it offers futures and options contracts tied to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals. The company also provides clearing and settlement services, market data and related products. Its electronic trading platform, CME Globex, supports access to its markets by participants around the world, alongside its open-outcry and privately negotiated trading services.