Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in CME Group Inc. by 6.4% during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 290,079 shares valued at approximately $76.95 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly boosted their positions in CME Group, including Price T Rowe Associates, which increased its stake by 89.9%, owning over $1.92 billion worth of shares.
• Analysts have mixed views on CME Group, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $261.93; however, some firms have increased their price objectives, indicating potential growth.

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 290,079 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,568 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.08% of CME Group worth $76,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in CME Group by 89.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,923,047,000 after buying an additional 3,921,278 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its stake in CME Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,081,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $947,821,000 after buying an additional 61,908 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in CME Group by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,943,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $915,788,000 after buying an additional 403,920 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,135,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $728,260,000 after purchasing an additional 621,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,818,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $747,744,000 after purchasing an additional 648,591 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 256 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was purchased 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 directly owned 258,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,849,763.88. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition 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 CME Group stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director owned 3,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $863,651.04. This represents a 25.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,576,294 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $6.34 during trading on Monday, hitting $287.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,726,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,223,672. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $276.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $264.36. The company has a market capitalization of $103.47 billion, a PE ratio of 27.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.62 and a fifty-two week 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. CME Group's payout ratio is 48.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays set a $298.00 price target on CME Group and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.