CME Group Inc. $CME Stock Position Boosted by Pittenger & Anderson Inc.

Key Points

• Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 2.3%, now holding 67,554 shares valued at $18.6 million.
• CME Group reported $2.96 EPS for the most recent quarter, exceeding estimates, while quarterly revenue rose by 10.4% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $5.00 and a yield of 1.9%.

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 2.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,554 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,511 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $18,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in CME Group by 7,676.3% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 2,205,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $584,975,000 after buying an additional 2,176,685 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 370.5% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,653,957 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $704,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,089,935 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $218,842,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 185.5% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,244,608 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $330,182,000 after purchasing an additional 808,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Egerton Capital UK LLP boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 79.4% during the 1st quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP now owns 1,730,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $459,003,000 after purchasing an additional 765,773 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $267.62 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $213.94 and a one year high of $290.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.44 billion, a PE ratio of 25.91, a P/E/G ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $266.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $271.50.

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 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 company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $303.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $298.00 to $280.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $313.00 to $304.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $283.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 262 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 258,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,540,742.21. This trade represents a 0.10% increase 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 hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total transaction of $102,704.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 7,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,056,962. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,043 shares of company stock valued at $3,527,956 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group 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.

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