Boston Common Asset Management LLC Buys 17,222 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Boston Common Asset Management LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 53.2% during Q2, now owning 49,598 shares valued at approximately $13.67 million.
• Insider trading activity involved Timothy Francis Mccourt selling 379 shares, while Director William R. Shepard bought 262 shares, indicating varied insider sentiment toward the stock.
• Target prices for CME Group shares have seen changes, with Oppenheimer raising it to $303, while UBS Group lowered it to $285, reflecting differing analyst views.

Boston Common Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 53.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 17,222 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $13,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CME. Webster Bank N. A. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 206.9% in the second quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 84.3% in the second quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 122.2% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 612.5% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total value of $98,475.57. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,470,463.64. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 258,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,540,742.21. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 13,043 shares of company stock valued at $3,527,956 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CME. Oppenheimer raised their target price 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $303.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $274.15.

CME Group Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of CME stock opened at $264.67 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $269.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.13. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.94 and a 1-year high of $290.79. 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 company has a market cap of $95.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.62, a PEG ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.41.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%.The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 (DPR) is 48.40%.

CME Group Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CME? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.