Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 39.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 204,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 58,037 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $45,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 66.1% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 515.2% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 62.2% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $76,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of CME stock traded up $3.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $225.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,798,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,483,283. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $230.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $221.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $81.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.55.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen started coverage on CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.73.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. This 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 hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.