191,933 CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its CME Group stake by 52.5% in the third quarter, buying 191,933 additional shares to hold 557,181 shares valued at approximately $146 million.
• CME Group reported quarterly EPS of $2.99, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.91, while revenue reached $1.71 billion. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, representing a 1.8% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $292.94; CME shares opened at $289.46, up 1.4%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 52.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 557,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 191,933 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.15% of CME Group worth $145,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth $6,749,965,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in CME Group by 39.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,019,944 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,187,290,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130,587 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in CME Group during the second quarter valued at $867,313,000. Alphabet Inc. purchased a new position in CME Group during the second quarter valued at $769,376,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $629,771,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Trading Up 1.4%

CME opened at $289.46 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $218.31 and a one year high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $104.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.24. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $273.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $270.60.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 EPS. CME Group's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.29 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CME. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $286.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings raised CME Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on CME Group from $330.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on CME Group from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $292.94.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director William Shepard purchased 293 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $268.76 per share, for a total transaction of $78,746.68. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 263,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $70,761,551.64. This trade represents a 0.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence Duffy sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total value of $4,116,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,630 shares in the company, valued at $11,150,497.20. The trade was a 26.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.

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