1,845 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME Purchased by Lincoln Capital LLC

Lincoln Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $483,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the second quarter worth $612,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at $53,671,000. Haverford Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at $13,818,000. Bowie Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $22,991,000. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the second quarter worth approximately $7,504,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CME Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on CME Group in a report on Friday, October 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $301.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised CME Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $292.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence Duffy sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total value of $4,116,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,150,497.20. This trade represents a 26.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Cook sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.11, for a total value of $140,055.00. Following the sale, the director owned 17,916 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,450.76. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 1.5%

CME traded up $4.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $280.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,593,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,533,263. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $271.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The company has a market capitalization of $100.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.80, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.24.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%.The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.11%.

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that enable customers to manage risk and trade futures and options contracts. Its exchanges offer products linked to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy, metals and other asset classes.

The company also provides central counterparty clearing, settlement and related risk-management services for transactions conducted on its markets. In addition, CME Group offers market data, benchmark products and technology services that support trading, analysis and connectivity for financial institutions, businesses, professional traders and other market participants.

CME Group’s history includes the Chicago Board of Trade, founded in 1848, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, established in 1898.