414,816 Shares in CME Group Inc. $CME Purchased by Maj Invest Holding A S

Maj Invest Holding A S bought a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 414,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $108,676,000. CME Group comprises approximately 4.8% of Maj Invest Holding A S’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brookmont Capital Management increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Brookmont Capital Management now owns 5,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 1,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 5,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William Shepard purchased 293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $268.76 per share, for a total transaction of $78,746.68. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 263,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,761,551.64. The trade was a 0.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.70, for a total value of $1,493,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,985,051.90. This represents a 19.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,900 shares of company stock worth $5,871,155. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on CME Group from $281.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised CME Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on CME Group from $315.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on CME Group from $337.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $313.29.

Key Headlines Impacting CME Group

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record futures volume is improving sentiment toward CME Group. The company recently reported record third-quarter revenue of approximately $1.74 billion and record average daily volume of 29.4 million contracts, while October activity was tracking at the strongest October level on record. The combination of elevated market volatility and strong trading activity makes CME’s earnings outlook more compelling. CME Group Looks Better Valued As Record Real Futures Volume Lifts Sentiment
• Positive Sentiment: CME Group’s Brazilian real futures set a record for daily volume following Brazil’s election, highlighting demand for the company’s currency products during periods of political and foreign-exchange volatility. CME Group Brazilian Real Futures Set New Daily Volume Record Following Election
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded CME to a Rank #2, or “Buy,” citing improving earnings prospects. Analysts have also raised several price targets, with the broader analyst consensus remaining above the recent trading level. CME Upgraded to Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: The Federal Reserve’s rate decision is being closely monitored, with markets expecting rates to remain unchanged. Stable rates may reduce uncertainty, but the impact on CME depends on how interest-rate and currency trading volumes respond. US Fed Opens Two-Day Meeting
• Negative Sentiment: After a strong run-up, investors may be taking profits or reassessing CME’s valuation despite its solid earnings beat and record volumes. This could limit near-term upside if results do not continue to exceed elevated expectations. CME Group Slides as Investors Digest Recent Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Sunil Cutinho sold 5,000 CME shares for approximately $1.49 million, reducing his direct stake by nearly 20%. The sale is a modest sentiment negative, though it does not by itself signal deteriorating fundamentals. CME Group Insider Sale

CME Group Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:CME opened at $294.04 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $279.10 and its 200-day moving average is $279.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $218.31 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The firm has a market cap of $105.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.24.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 63.33% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.34 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 42.66%.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that provide trading, clearing and settlement services for futures and options contracts. Its products cover major asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy and metals. The company also provides market data, benchmark information and related services used by financial institutions, corporations, producers, investors and other market participants.

CME Group’s exchange portfolio includes CME, the Chicago Board of Trade, the New York Mercantile Exchange and COMEX.