Plancorp LLC Buys Shares of 829 CME Group Inc. $CME

Plancorp LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in CME Group by 7,676.3% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 2,205,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $584,975,000 after buying an additional 2,176,685 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in CME Group by 370.5% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,653,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $704,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,089,935 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 32,941.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,858,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $493,144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853,261 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $218,842,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in CME Group by 185.5% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,244,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $330,182,000 after purchasing an additional 808,740 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $268.73 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $270.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.80. The company has a market capitalization of $96.84 billion, a PE ratio of 26.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 0.43. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.94 and a 12-month high of $290.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%.CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total value of $98,475.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,470,463.64. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total value of $102,704.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 7,851 shares in the company, valued at $2,056,962. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,043 shares of company stock valued at $3,527,956. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on CME Group from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $246.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays set a $298.00 price objective on shares of CME Group and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $275.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $268.14.

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.