Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,178,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 319,899 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,524,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CME. Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in CME Group by 206.9% during the second quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 84.3% during the second quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in CME Group in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 59.2% in the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 105.0% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on CME. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of CME Group from $313.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of CME Group from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on CME Group from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on CME Group from $312.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on CME Group from $298.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.06.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total value of $98,475.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,470,463.64. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total value of $263,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $287,511.23. The trade was a 47.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 14,043 shares of company stock worth $3,791,486 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $278.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $266.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $272.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $222.56 and a 52-week high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.45%.

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.