National Pension Service Raises Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

National Pension Service lifted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 917,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 86,733 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in CME Group were worth $252,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,643,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,190,661,000 after buying an additional 400,737 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,113,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,091,401,000 after acquiring an additional 363,130 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in CME Group by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,920,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $804,823,000 after acquiring an additional 84,005 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,783,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $735,539,000 after acquiring an additional 260,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,727,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,660,000 after acquiring an additional 290,147 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total transaction of $102,704.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 7,851 shares in the company, valued at $2,056,962. This represents a 4.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.47, for a total value of $3,229,407.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 17,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,734,436.80. The trade was a 40.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,043 shares of company stock valued at $3,791,486. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of CME opened at $278.84 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $222.56 and a 12 month high of $290.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $266.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.60. The firm has a market cap of $100.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.38.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 58.84%.The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict 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 will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised 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, October 23rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $300.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $266.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $286.06.

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.