Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Boosts Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 93,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,721 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $20,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 62.2% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in CME Group by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC grew its position in CME Group by 515.2% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in CME Group during the first quarter worth $82,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME opened at $228.00 on Thursday. 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 $82.16 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a P/E/G ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.81. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $230.74.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. CME Group’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was 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. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 8.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $224.47.

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.