ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Raises Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 940 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $6,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 4.3% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,119,000 after acquiring an additional 1,869 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 86.6% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,154,000 after buying an additional 2,675 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,721,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,939,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,029,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $806,841,000 after purchasing an additional 70,588 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

CME traded down $0.06 on Tuesday, hitting $196.53. 2,225,095 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,811,808. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $207.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $209.81. 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 one year low of $177.97 and a one year high of $223.80. The firm has a market cap of $70.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.52.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,399,936.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total transaction of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,226,934.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,290 shares of company stock worth $11,393,700 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CME Group from $198.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Argus lifted their price objective on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price target (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $217.80.

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.