PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab Boosts Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab raised its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,271 shares during the period. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab’s holdings in CME Group were worth $15,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 191.9% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Down 0.2%

CME stock opened at $263.66 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $249.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $280.78. 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 firm has a market cap of $94.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.23.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%.The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on CME Group from $310.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut CME Group from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CME Group from $324.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $316.00 to $323.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $291.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total value of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,438,860.26. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 325 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 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.