Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 649.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 113,836 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 98,650 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $30,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, United Community Bank bought a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

CME traded down $1.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $269.50. 1,576,352 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,198,614. The company has a market cap of $97.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.87, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $290.79. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $272.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $254.03.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on CME. Erste Group Bank lowered CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $282.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Raymond James upgraded CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $258.20.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total value of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. The trade was a 12.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Larry G. Gerdes sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total value of $528,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,207,729.10. This trade represents a 4.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,680,610. 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.