6,544 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME Acquired by Apella Capital LLC

Key Points

• Apella Capital LLC acquired 6,544 CME Group shares during the third quarter, valued at approximately $1.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 87.75% of the company.
• CME shares opened at $280.56, up 1.5%, after the company reported quarterly EPS of $2.99 and revenue of $1.71 billion, exceeding analysts’ estimates.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with an average “Hold” rating and a $292.06 price target; CME also maintains a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, yielding about 1.9% annually.

Apella Capital LLC acquired a new position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,714,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,749,965,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in CME Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,144,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,408,747,000 after buying an additional 56,725 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in 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 valued at $1,187,290,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130,587 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $867,313,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in CME Group by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,074,773 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $839,659,000 after acquiring an additional 208,318 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, CEO Terrence Duffy sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total transaction of $4,116,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,150,497.20. This trade represents a 26.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Cook sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.11, for a total transaction of $140,055.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,916 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,450.76. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on CME Group from $292.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CME Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $330.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $292.06.

CME Group Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $280.56 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $272.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.26. The company has a market cap of $100.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.24. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $218.31 and a 12 month high of $329.16. 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 (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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

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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