CME Group Inc. $CME Position Decreased by Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.

Key Points

• Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. cut its CME Group stake by 44.6% in the third quarter, selling 12,054 shares and retaining 14,992 shares valued at approximately $3.93 million.
• Institutional investors hold 87.75% of CME Group’s stock, while analyst sentiment is mixed: the shares have an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $292.06.
• CME Group reported quarterly earnings of $2.99 per share and revenue of $1.71 billion, surpassing estimates, and maintains a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, equal to a 1.9% yield.

Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,054 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for about 2.1% of Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at $6,749,965,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 39.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,019,944 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,187,290,000 after buying an additional 1,130,587 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $867,313,000. Alphabet Inc. acquired a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $769,376,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $629,771,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.11, for a total transaction of $140,055.00. Following the sale, the director owned 17,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,018,450.76. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 293 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $268.76 per share, with a total value of $78,746.68. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 263,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,761,551.64. The trade was a 0.11% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $330.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $286.00 to $270.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $292.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $292.06.

CME Group Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ CME traded up $0.79 on Tuesday, hitting $278.03. 1,418,779 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,522,823. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $218.31 and a fifty-two week high of $329.16. The company has a market cap of $99.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.58, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $272.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $270.83.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 44.11%.

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that enable customers to manage risk and trade futures and options contracts. Its exchanges offer products linked to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy, metals and other asset classes.

The company also provides central counterparty clearing, settlement and related risk-management services for transactions conducted on its markets. In addition, CME Group offers market data, benchmark products and technology services that support trading, analysis and connectivity for financial institutions, businesses, professional traders and other market participants.

CME Group's history includes the Chicago Board of Trade, founded in 1848, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, established in 1898.

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