Windward Capital Management Co. CA Boosts Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Windward Capital Management Co. CA lifted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up approximately 1.5% of Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings in CME Group were worth $19,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the first quarter valued at about $274,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $989,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in CME Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,455,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 312.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 56,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,222,000 after buying an additional 42,996 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ CME opened at $225.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $81.26 billion, a PE ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $230.36. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $221.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Redburn Atlantic downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.73.

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.