CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Ninety One UK Ltd

Ninety One UK Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 46.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 179,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 157,661 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in CME Group were worth $47,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in CME Group by 47.9% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 52,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,760,000 after buying an additional 17,018 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 4.3% in the third quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,905,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares in the last quarter. Winnacle Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 64.6% in the third quarter. Winnacle Wealth LLC now owns 5,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,546,000 after buying an additional 2,316 shares during the period. Ashurst Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 24.1% in the third quarter. Ashurst Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 3,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $848,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 162.1% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,763,000 after buying an additional 4,161 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.7%

CME traded up $2.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $287.66. 698,158 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,510,764. The stock has a market cap of $103.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.24. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $218.31 and a 1-year high of $329.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $273.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.63. 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 (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $286.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CME Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on CME Group from $270.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Nine equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $292.94.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director William Shepard acquired 293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $268.76 per share, for a total transaction of $78,746.68. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 263,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,761,551.64. The trade was a 0.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Terrence Duffy sold 15,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total value of $4,116,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,150,497.20. This represents a 26.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company 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.