CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Purchased by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 81.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,202 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 21.2% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,477,000 after buying an additional 8,443 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 429.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 47,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,231,000 after acquiring an additional 38,540 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 12.2% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 30,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,325 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in CME Group by 197.2% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after buying an additional 4,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in CME Group by 40.8% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,112,000 after buying an additional 3,112 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. This represents a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,028 shares of company stock worth $1,811,681 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $238.00 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $225.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $85.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03, a PEG ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $238.97.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The company’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. Research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America increased their price target on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $224.47.

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.