CME Group Inc. $CME Stock: Farther Finance Advisors LLC Raises Holdings

Key Points

• Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its CME Group stake by 139.3% in the third quarter, owning 28,067 shares valued at approximately $7.35 million. Institutional investors collectively own 87.75% of CME’s outstanding stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: CME has a consensus “Hold” rating from 18 analysts, with an average price target of $292.06 versus its recent price of $280.56.
• CME reported quarterly earnings of $2.99 per share, beating estimates, while revenue reached $1.71 billion. The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $1.30, equivalent to a 1.9% annualized yield.

Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 139.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,067 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,338 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $7,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in CME Group in the second quarter valued at about $6,749,965,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $867,313,000. Alphabet Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $769,376,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $629,771,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $622,679,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $292.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $286.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on CME Group from $270.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $292.06.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total value of $4,116,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,150,497.20. This represents a 26.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.11, for a total value of $140,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 17,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,018,450.76. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of CME stock opened at $280.56 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $218.31 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $272.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

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 reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.