11,513 Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Purchased by Syntax Research Inc.

Syntax Research Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,540,000. CME Group makes up approximately 1.7% of Syntax Research Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. bought a new stake in CME Group during the second quarter worth $313,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $235,000. Koa Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 75.1% in the 2nd quarter. Koa Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 3,021 shares during the last quarter. &PARTNERS bought a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth about $393,000. Finally, My Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $600,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of CME Group 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,298. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup increased their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $226.20.

CME Group Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $235.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $85.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $249.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $229.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.34.

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

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board 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 issued a $5.80 dividend. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

CME Group Company 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.