Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in CME Group Inc. by 3.6%, now owning approximately 1,135,077 shares worth about $301 million.
• CME Group announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, set to be paid on September 25th, which reflects an annual yield of 1.8%.
• Recent earnings results showed a 10.4% year-over-year revenue increase to $1.69 billion, with an EPS of $2.96, surpassing expectations.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,135,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 39,971 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.31% of CME Group worth $301,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 4.0% in the first quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,546,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 3.6% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its position in CME Group by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,522 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $934,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded down $3.4050 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $269.9150. The stock had a trading volume of 520,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,319,073. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $275.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $268.13. 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 firm has a market cap of $97.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.44 and a fifty-two week high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%.The company's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Barclays set a $298.00 target price on CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $261.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard bought 256 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $270.53 per share, with a total value of $69,255.68. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 258,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,849,763.88. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total value of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,900 shares in the company, valued at $1,300,215. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.