KBC Group NV Grows Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 111,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 29,114 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in CME Group were worth $24,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in CME Group in the second quarter worth about $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 515.2% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 62.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in CME Group in the second quarter worth $76,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.8 %

CME stock opened at $225.28 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.69, a P/E/G ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $230.36. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $222.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.26.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.25 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America boosted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.