Financial Counselors Inc. Purchases 145 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Financial Counselors Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CME. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 137.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,260,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $444,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309,097 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 577.9% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 645,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,872,000 after purchasing an additional 550,133 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 11.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,038,676,000 after purchasing an additional 537,758 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 21,465.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,072,070,000 after purchasing an additional 483,618 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $79,692,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $238.00 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $225.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.93. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $238.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $85.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,652,298. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,028 shares of company stock valued at $1,811,681. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.47.

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.