6,790 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME Bought by Iowa State Bank

Key Points

• Iowa State Bank purchased 6,790 CME Group shares worth approximately $1.78 million in the third quarter, while institutional investors collectively own 87.75% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: CME has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $290.94, despite several firms issuing “Buy” or “Outperform” ratings.
• CME reported quarterly earnings of $2.99 per share, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $1.71 billion. The company also paid a $1.30 quarterly dividend, equal to a 1.9% annualized yield.

Iowa State Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 6,790 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,779,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,749,965,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in CME Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,144,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,408,747,000 after acquiring an additional 56,725 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in CME Group by 39.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,399,414 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $928,312,000 after acquiring an additional 18,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $867,313,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $270.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of CME Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of CME Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $316.00 to $323.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on CME Group in a research note on Friday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $301.00 target price on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $290.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director William Shepard bought 293 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $268.76 per share, with a total value of $78,746.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 263,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at $70,761,551.64. This represents a 0.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Terrence Duffy sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total value of $4,116,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $269.28. The company had a trading volume of 463,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,527,826. The stock has a market cap of $96.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.24. The company's 50 day moving average price is $271.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $271.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $218.31 and a 52-week high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 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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