CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 958,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,561 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.27% of CME Group worth $211,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CME. Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new position in CME Group in the third quarter valued at $79,692,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $337,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its stake in CME Group by 106.1% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 3,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $747,000 after buying an additional 1,742 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in CME Group by 6.8% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,505,000 after buying an additional 725 shares during the period. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the third quarter worth approximately $1,510,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $226.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $81.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80, a PEG ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $221.92 and a 200-day moving average of $209.93. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $230.36.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders 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 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $224.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related 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 $11,932,706.13. This trade 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 is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063 over the last quarter. Corporate 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.