CME Group Inc. $CME Position Reduced by Ninety One SA Pty Ltd

Ninety One SA Pty Ltd lowered its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 57.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,687 shares during the quarter. Ninety One SA Pty Ltd’s holdings in CME Group were worth $901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CME. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $612,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth about $53,671,000. Haverford Trust Co acquired a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $13,818,000. Bowie Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $22,991,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $2,807,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director William R. Shepard bought 293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $268.76 per share, with a total value of $78,746.68. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 263,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,761,551.64. This represents a 0.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.11, for a total value of $140,055.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,450.76. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded up $2.00 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $287.58. 698,158 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,510,764. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $273.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $270.63. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 44.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group lifted their target price on CME Group from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen raised CME Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 3rd. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.94.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that enable customers to manage risk and trade futures and options contracts. Its exchanges offer products linked to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy, metals and other asset classes.

The company also provides central counterparty clearing, settlement and related risk-management services for transactions conducted on its markets. In addition, CME Group offers market data, benchmark products and technology services that support trading, analysis and connectivity for financial institutions, businesses, professional traders and other market participants.

CME Group’s history includes the Chicago Board of Trade, founded in 1848, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, established in 1898.