Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in CME Group Inc. by 1.2% during the first quarter, owning approximately 34.6 million shares valued at over $9.19 billion.
• CME Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.96, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.91, alongside a revenue of $1.69 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.8%.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,643,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 400,737 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.61% of CME Group worth $9,190,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CME. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 3.0% during the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 0.8% during the 1st 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 grew its holdings in CME Group by 3.6% during the 1st 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. grew its holdings 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 valued at $934,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $261.93.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME traded up $1.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $282.21. The stock had a trading volume of 1,488,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,050,219. The company's 50-day moving average is $275.84 and its 200 day moving average is $265.67. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $203.77 and a 12-month high of $290.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $101.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.44.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders 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 1.8%. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total value of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. This represents a 12.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of CME Group 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 6,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,861,470. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,750 shares of company stock worth $1,576,294. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

About CME Group

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.