CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Newly Purchased by Columbus Macro LLC

Key Points

• Columbus Macro LLC acquired 24,899 CME Group shares worth approximately $6.5 million in the third quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 87.75% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: CME has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $292.94, with recent targets ranging from $270 to $337.
• CME shares rose 2.7% to $285.59, while the company reported quarterly earnings and revenue above expectations and paid a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, equivalent to a 1.8% yield.

Columbus Macro LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 24,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,523,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the second quarter worth approximately $6,749,965,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in CME Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $867,313,000. Alphabet Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $769,376,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $629,771,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $622,679,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Elizabeth Cook sold 500 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,916 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,450.76. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William Shepard acquired 293 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $268.76 per share, with a total value of $78,746.68. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 263,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $70,761,551.64. This represents a 0.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $286.00 to $270.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CME Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on CME Group from $330.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on CME Group from $270.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $292.94.

CME Group Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded up $7.56 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $285.59. The stock had a trading volume of 2,003,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,520,009. The company has a market capitalization of $102.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.22, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.24. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $218.31 and a 1-year high of $329.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $272.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $270.72.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 EPS. On average, analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is 44.11%.

CME Group Company 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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