KBC Group NV Has $26.95 Million Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 16.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,563 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in CME Group were worth $26,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Webster Bank N. A. grew its position in CME Group by 206.9% in the second quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 84.3% during the 2nd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 59.2% during the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 105.0% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard bought 262 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $265.19 per share, for a total transaction of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 258,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,540,742.21. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.47, for a total transaction of $3,229,407.12. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 17,440 shares in the company, valued at $4,734,436.80. The trade was a 40.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 14,043 shares of company stock worth $3,791,486 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $283.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $266.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $272.73. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $222.56 and a 12-month high of $290.79. The company has a market capitalization of $102.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.38.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CME. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $266.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $298.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.06.

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.