KBC Group NV Raises Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 111,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,114 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in CME Group were worth $24,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,477,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 429.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 47,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,231,000 after purchasing an additional 38,540 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 30,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,156,000 after buying an additional 3,325 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 99,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,518,000 after purchasing an additional 4,454 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 197.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 4,025 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $225.28 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.69, a PEG ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.55. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $222.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.26. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $230.36.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CME. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.47.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related 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 transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.