Bank of Montreal Can Sells 23,087 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 695,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,087 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.19% of CME Group worth $191,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 7,676.3% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 2,205,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $584,975,000 after buying an additional 2,176,685 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in CME Group by 370.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,653,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $704,068,000 after buying an additional 2,089,935 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at $218,842,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in CME Group by 185.5% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,244,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $330,182,000 after buying an additional 808,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Egerton Capital UK LLP grew its holdings in CME Group by 79.4% in the 1st quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP now owns 1,730,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $459,003,000 after buying an additional 765,773 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on CME Group from $298.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on CME Group from $309.00 to $307.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. UBS Group reduced their target price on CME Group from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on CME Group from $313.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $285.19.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $264.16 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $213.94 and a 1 year high of $290.79. 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 has a market capitalization of $95.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $265.69 and a 200-day moving average of $272.18.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 58.84%.The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.45%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.47, for a total transaction of $3,229,407.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 17,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,734,436.80. This represents a 40.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the purchase, the director owned 258,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,540,742.21. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,043 shares of company stock worth $3,527,956. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.