CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Purchased by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 9.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 675,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,317 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in CME Group were worth $186,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 12,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,456,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 132.5% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 27,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,482,000 after acquiring an additional 15,504 shares during the last quarter. Managed Asset Portfolios LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 0.3% during the second quarter. Managed Asset Portfolios LLC now owns 40,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,085,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in CME Group by 8.5% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,988,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $548,069,000 after purchasing an additional 156,575 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebrook Private Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 12,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,363,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard bought 262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the transaction, the director owned 258,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,540,742.21. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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. Insiders sold 14,043 shares of company stock worth $3,791,486 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on CME Group from $312.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $309.00 to $307.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Argus reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of CME Group from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $287.65.

CME Group Trading Down 2.4%

NASDAQ:CME opened at $272.49 on Thursday. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $224.62 and a 12-month high of $290.79. The firm has a market cap of $98.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $268.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $272.82.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.45%.

About CME Group

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.