Vontobel Holding Ltd. Acquires 84,005 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in CME Group Inc. by 3.0%, acquiring an additional 84,005 shares, which brings its total holdings to approximately $804.8 million.
• Several institutional investors, including GQG Partners LLC and Wellington Management Group LLP, significantly raised their positions in CME Group during the first quarter, reflecting strong investor interest.
• CME Group declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.9%, with a current payout ratio of 48.40%.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 3.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,920,046 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 84,005 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for approximately 2.6% of Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned about 0.81% of CME Group worth $804,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CME. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 7,676.3% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 2,205,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $584,975,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,685 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in 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 worth $704,068,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089,935 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth about $218,842,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in 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 worth $330,182,000 after acquiring an additional 808,740 shares during the period. Finally, Egerton Capital UK LLP lifted its position in 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 worth $459,003,000 after acquiring an additional 765,773 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on CME. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on CME Group from $246.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price target on CME Group from $298.00 to $280.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised CME Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $275.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total value of $98,475.57. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,470,463.64. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $265.19 per share, for a total transaction of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 258,459 shares in the company, valued at $68,540,742.21. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,043 shares of company stock worth $3,527,956. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $264.94 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $95.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.41. The business's 50 day moving average is $269.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.06. 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 12-month low of $213.94 and a 12-month high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%.CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.56 earnings per share. Analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CME? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.