CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Purchased by Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.

Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. increased its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the period. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $5,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Capital World Investors increased its position in CME Group by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,589,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,072,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,575 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,739,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,683,012,000 after buying an additional 50,626 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,667,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,193,551,000 after buying an additional 23,583 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 31.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,858,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $972,863,000 after buying an additional 1,163,103 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $959,260,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total transaction of $1,501,899.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,153,999.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total value of $1,501,899.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,256 shares in the company, valued at $6,153,999.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,226,934.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,290 shares of company stock valued at $11,393,700. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock traded up $1.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $197.13. 1,671,739 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,859,364. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.97 and a twelve month high of $223.80. The company has a market cap of $70.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $208.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.00.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 52.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on CME. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Argus increased their target price on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “sell” rating and set a $187.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $217.80.

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.