Banco Santander S.A. Has $24.23 Million Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Banco Santander S.A. increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 125.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 61,054 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $24,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 66.1% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised 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 worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $76,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $228.00 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $223.21 and a 200 day moving average of $210.81. The company has a market capitalization of $82.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.97, a PEG ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $230.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the firm’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 value of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total transaction of $1,019,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,131,291.92. The trade was a 14.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.