Vestcor Inc Grows Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Vestcor Inc grew its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 11.8% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 7,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.7% during the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 10.2% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 1.0 %

CME Group stock opened at $239.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $249.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s fifty day moving average is $228.20 and its 200 day moving average is $213.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 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 company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. CME Group’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

CME Group declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a $5.80 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CME shares. TD Cowen started coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price objective for the company. Redburn Atlantic downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $226.20.

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.