CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Bought by Quadrature Capital Ltd

Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 37.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 44,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,186 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in CME Group were worth $12,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard bought 262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $68,540,742.21. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total value of $102,704.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 7,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,056,962. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,147 shares of company stock worth $562,079. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $280.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $101.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $270.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.64. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $224.62 and a 1-year high of $290.79.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on CME Group from $288.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on CME Group from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $287.71.

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.