Avanza Fonder AB Has $7.32 Million Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Avanza Fonder AB increased its stake in CME Group Inc. by 18.0%, acquiring an additional 4,052 shares for a total holding of 26,556 shares valued at approximately $7.32 million.
• CME Group reported a quarterly EPS of $2.96, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.91, with revenue increasing 10.4% year-over-year to $1.69 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $5.00 and a dividend yield of 1.9%.

Avanza Fonder AB increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 18.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,556 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,052 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in CME Group were worth $7,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $377,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 256.9% during the 1st quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $971,000 after acquiring an additional 2,636 shares during the last quarter. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth $367,000. Fulcrum Equity Management purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $258,000. Finally, AIA Group Ltd raised its position in CME Group by 17.8% in the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 16,645 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,416,000 after acquiring an additional 2,510 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Barclays set a $298.00 price target on CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on CME Group from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $260.60.

CME Group Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ CME traded up $0.94 on Friday, reaching $261.53. The company had a trading volume of 3,139,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,903,585. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.25 billion, a PE ratio of 25.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $271.98 and a 200-day moving average of $270.81. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.38 and a 1 year high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 256 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $270.53 per share, with a total value of $69,255.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 258,196 shares in the company, valued at $69,849,763.88. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.47, for a total value of $3,229,407.12. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 17,440 shares in the company, valued at $4,734,436.80. The trade was a 40.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,043 shares of company stock valued at $3,527,956. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.