Ethic Inc. Purchases 5,674 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its stake in CME Group Inc. by 10.6%, acquiring an additional 5,674 shares, bringing its total holdings to 59,112 shares valued at approximately $15.5 million.
• CME Group reported earnings of $2.96 per share, surpassing analyst expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 10.4% to $1.69 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.8%, with a payout ratio of 48.40%.

Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 10.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,112 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,674 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $15,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,643,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,190,661,000 after acquiring an additional 400,737 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 89.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,923,047,000 after buying an additional 3,921,278 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in CME Group by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,943,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $915,788,000 after acquiring an additional 403,920 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,135,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $728,260,000 after acquiring an additional 621,713 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 29.9% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,818,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $747,744,000 after buying an additional 648,591 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,300,215. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total value of $108,225.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 6,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,861,470. The trade was a 5.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,450 shares of company stock valued at $676,663. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted 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. Barclays set a $298.00 price target on CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $261.93.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $273.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,055,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,079,104. The company has a market cap of $98.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.52, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm's 50-day moving average is $275.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.59. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $204.16 and a 1-year high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. CME Group's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is 48.40%.

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.