CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Purchased by Zions Bancorporation N.A.

Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 54 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,477,000 after buying an additional 8,443 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in CME Group by 429.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 47,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,231,000 after buying an additional 38,540 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in shares of CME Group by 12.2% during the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 30,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,325 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 99,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,518,000 after purchasing an additional 4,454 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 197.2% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,306,000 after buying an additional 4,025 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen started coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.47.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $225.28 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $230.36. The company has a market capitalization of $81.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69, a PEG ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $222.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. This represents a 12.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.