289,492 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME Purchased by Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.

Key Points

• Montrusco Bolton Investments purchased 289,492 CME Group shares worth approximately $75.8 million, making CME about 1.2% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 87.75% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: CME has a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $292.06, while individual targets range from $250 to $337.
• CME reported quarterly EPS of $2.99, exceeding expectations, and revenue of $1.71 billion. The company also paid a $1.30 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.9% annualized yield.

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 289,492 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $75,841,000. CME Group accounts for approximately 1.2% of Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. owned about 0.08% of CME Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,749,965,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 39.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,019,944 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,187,290,000 after buying an additional 1,130,587 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $867,313,000. Alphabet Inc. bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $769,376,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $629,771,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on CME shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CME Group from $330.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays increased their price objective on CME Group from $270.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on CME Group from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $301.00 target price on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $292.06.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $278.03. 1,418,779 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,522,823. The company has a market cap of $99.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.58, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.24. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $272.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $270.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. CME Group's quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.11, for a total transaction of $140,055.00. Following the sale, the director owned 17,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,018,450.76. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 293 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $268.76 per share, for a total transaction of $78,746.68. Following 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 position. Additional details regarding this purchase 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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