PCM Encore LLC Invests $531,000 in CME Group Inc. $CME

PCM Encore LLC bought a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $531,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth about $6,749,965,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,523,241,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $867,313,000. Alphabet Inc. bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $769,376,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $629,771,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 1.5%

CME opened at $270.87 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $251.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $279.68. The stock has a market cap of $97.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Bank of America lifted their price target on CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays cut their price objective on CME Group from $316.00 to $270.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on CME Group from $323.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on CME Group from $310.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $288.56.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director William R. Shepard bought 325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at $60,050,111.94. This represents a 0.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.