Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 144,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,945 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in CME Group were worth $31,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 215.6% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 8,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,851,000 after buying an additional 5,731 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.9% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 303,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,923,000 after purchasing an additional 11,300 shares during the period. Capital Counsel LLC NY increased its position in CME Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Capital Counsel LLC NY now owns 829,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,990,000 after purchasing an additional 3,986 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 49.5% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 23,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,197,000 after purchasing an additional 7,801 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $279,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CME. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This represents a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,028 shares of company stock worth $1,811,681. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $237.33 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $225.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.73. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $238.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $85.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

CME Group Profile

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.