CME Group Inc. $CME Stock Holdings Increased by CCLA Investment Management

CCLA Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 559,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 873 shares during the period. CME Group makes up 0.1% of CCLA Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. CCLA Investment Management’s holdings in CME Group were worth $154,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 24.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,859,000 after acquiring an additional 1,381 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 3,662.5% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,804,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at $278,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total value of $102,704.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 7,851 shares in the company, valued at $2,056,962. The trade was a 4.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $265.19 per share, for a total transaction of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 258,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,540,742.21. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,043 shares of company stock valued at $3,527,956. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $269.54 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 6.65 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $266.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.90. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.94 and a 52-week high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 58.84%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 48.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on CME. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on CME Group from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on CME Group from $288.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays dropped their price objective on CME Group from $298.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on CME Group from $313.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $284.53.

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.