Eagle Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 9.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,960 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $20,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 515.2% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $82,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $229.04 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $223.64 and its 200 day moving average is $211.07. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $230.74. The firm has a market cap of $82.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The firm 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 company earned $2.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $224.47.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 12.01 % 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, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total transaction of $1,019,880.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares in the company, valued at $6,131,291.92. The trade was a 14.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group 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.