CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Purchased by Magellan Asset Management Ltd

Magellan Asset Management Ltd raised its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1,055.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 21,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,951 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in CME Group were worth $4,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RB Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 11.4% in the first quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,709,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in CME Group by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $829,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at $281,000. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its position in CME Group by 9.5% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 25,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,001,000 after buying an additional 2,181 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on CME Group from $247.00 to $244.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.00.

CME Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of CME traded up $2.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $214.23. The company had a trading volume of 261,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,568,558. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $166.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.47. The stock has a market cap of $77.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.03% and a return on equity of 11.70%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 9.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 28th. Investors of record on Friday, December 8th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total value of $64,899.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,719 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,461.27. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.43, for a total transaction of $105,715.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,068,124.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total value of $64,899.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,461.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,386 shares of company stock valued at $725,855 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About CME Group

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.