Impax Asset Management Group plc Has $17.29 Million Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Impax Asset Management Group plc decreased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 38.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 39,914 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in CME Group were worth $17,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its position in CME Group by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 54,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,056,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,178,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,524,271,000 after buying an additional 319,899 shares during the period. Maple Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.7% in the second quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 64,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,733,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 3.2% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 161,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,623,000 after acquiring an additional 4,964 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on CME. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on CME Group from $313.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of CME Group from $298.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $286.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total transaction of $98,475.57. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,470,463.64. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total transaction of $102,704.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 7,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,056,962. This represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 14,043 shares of company stock worth $3,791,486 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $279.58 on Thursday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $266.55 and its 200-day moving average is $272.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.82 billion, a PE ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.38. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $222.56 and a 1 year high of $290.79.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

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