Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Acquires 13,306 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 643,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,306 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned about 0.18% of CME Group worth $186,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in CME Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,243,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,952,273,000 after purchasing an additional 326,623 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,389,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,946,717,000 after purchasing an additional 104,697 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in CME Group by 89.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,923,047,000 after purchasing an additional 3,921,278 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,107,389,000. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its position in CME Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,081,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $947,821,000 after purchasing an additional 61,908 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 0.3%

CME Group stock traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $277.18. 2,695,098 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,389,225. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $99.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.25 and a 1-year high of $290.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $276.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.54.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 57.71% and a return on equity of 14.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.56 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.30%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total value of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,300,215. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total transaction of $294,552.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $863,651.04. The trade was a 25.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,152,410. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $261.93.

CME Group Profile

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.