State of Alaska Department of Revenue Buys 17,018 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its CME Group stake by 47.9% in the third quarter, purchasing 17,018 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 52,523 shares valued at approximately $13.76 million.
• CME Group’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $2.99 per share versus the $2.91 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.71 billion. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, equivalent to a 1.8% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, resulting in a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $292.94; CME shares recently traded at $288.83.

State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 47.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 17,018 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in CME Group were worth $13,760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 2,075.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. First Community Trust NA bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Bayban acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $286.00 to $270.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen raised CME Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Bank of America lifted their price target on CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $292.94.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME traded up $3.24 on Thursday, reaching $288.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 676,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,510,452. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $103.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.24. The firm's 50 day moving average is $273.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.63.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.29 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 15,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total value of $4,116,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,150,497.20. The trade was a 26.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 293 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $268.76 per share, for a total transaction of $78,746.68. Following the transaction, the director owned 263,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at $70,761,551.64. The trade was a 0.11% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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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