Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 948 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in CME Group were worth $11,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of CME Group by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,809,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,403,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,069,806 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,038,676,000 after buying an additional 537,758 shares during the period. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd increased its holdings in CME Group by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 4,009,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $863,112,000 after buying an additional 43,293 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in CME Group by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,029,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $595,530,000 after buying an additional 94,302 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in CME Group by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,835,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $557,371,000 after buying an additional 176,004 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.07.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $228.32 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $216.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.97, a PEG ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $230.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. Research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

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.