CME Group Inc. $CME Stock Position Lifted by GFG Capital LLC

GFG Capital LLC raised its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,123 shares during the period. GFG Capital LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CME. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 2,075.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. First Community Trust NA acquired a new position in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH acquired a new position in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Bayban purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $293.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $105.67 billion, a PE ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.24. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $218.31 and a 52-week high of $329.16. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $274.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $270.77.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised CME Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on CME Group from $292.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on CME Group from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $270.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.94.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director William Shepard purchased 293 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $268.76 per share, for a total transaction of $78,746.68. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 263,289 shares in the company, valued at $70,761,551.64. This trade represents a 0.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence Duffy sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total transaction of $4,116,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,150,497.20. This represents a 26.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that enable customers to manage risk and trade futures and options contracts. Its exchanges offer products linked to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy, metals and other asset classes.

The company also provides central counterparty clearing, settlement and related risk-management services for transactions conducted on its markets. In addition, CME Group offers market data, benchmark products and technology services that support trading, analysis and connectivity for financial institutions, businesses, professional traders and other market participants.

CME Group’s history includes the Chicago Board of Trade, founded in 1848, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, established in 1898.