Intech Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 46.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 22,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,214 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $5,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in CME Group by 66.1% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in CME Group by 515.2% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in CME Group by 62.2% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 8.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $229.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $230.74. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.07. The firm has a market cap of $82.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on CME shares. TD Cowen started coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.47.

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.