Swedbank AB Grows Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Swedbank AB raised its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 182,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,588 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in CME Group were worth $49,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jessup Wealth Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,197,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 2.3% during the first quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 2.7% during the second quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $276.37 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.28. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $224.62 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $272.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.76.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CME. TD Cowen raised their price target on CME Group from $288.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $314.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $309.00 to $307.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $290.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total value of $263,530.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,511.23. This trade represents a 47.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total transaction of $6,738,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.