CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Bought by PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab

PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab boosted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,271 shares during the period. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab’s holdings in CME Group were worth $15,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 2,075.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 191.9% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $263.66 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $249.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $280.78. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $218.31 and a 1-year high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.23.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. Analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $310.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $316.00 to $323.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on CME Group from $316.00 to $270.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $291.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total value of $1,752,536.39. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Company 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.