IMS Capital Management Cuts Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

IMS Capital Management trimmed its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 199 shares during the period. IMS Capital Management’s holdings in CME Group were worth $970,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in CME Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,823,964,000 after buying an additional 142,692 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 537,758 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of CME Group by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,835,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $557,371,000 after acquiring an additional 176,004 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $554,707,000 after purchasing an additional 380,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $544,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. This represents a 8.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on CME. 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 for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $226.20.

CME Group Stock Up 0.0 %

CME opened at $235.99 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $249.02. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $229.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.34. The company has a market cap of $85.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

CME Group 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.