Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. Purchases 1,201 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• The Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. increased its holdings in CME Group Inc. by 4.9% during the first quarter, now owning 25,820 shares valued at approximately $6.85 million.
• CME Group reported a 10.4% year-over-year revenue growth for the latest quarter, achieving a revenue of $1.69 billion and an EPS of $2.96, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• The firm's latest dividend was declared at $1.25 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $5.00 with a yield of 1.8%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,820 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,201 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $6,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 86,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,190,000 after buying an additional 19,533 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 43,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,174,000 after buying an additional 2,426 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 202.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 564,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $130,983,000 after buying an additional 377,414 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 4,577 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,063,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total transaction of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,035,916.56. This trade represents a 12.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total transaction of $108,225.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 6,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,861,470. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,576,294. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $261.93.

CME Group Stock Up 2.3%

NASDAQ:CME traded up $6.34 on Monday, hitting $287.10. 1,726,168 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,223,672. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.62 and a 52 week high of $290.79. The company has a market cap of $103.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $276.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $264.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.40%.

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.