Czech National Bank Increases Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 91,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,446 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in CME Group were worth $24,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 56,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,920,000 after acquiring an additional 3,809 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in CME Group by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,479,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA bought a new stake in CME Group in the first quarter worth about $329,000. Vertex Planning Partners LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 6,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,841,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,679,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on CME Group from $310.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $282.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Argus decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $290.47.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $273.74 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $272.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $272.03. The firm has a market cap of $98.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.28. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $224.62 and a 12 month high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 262 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $265.19 per share, for a total transaction of $69,479.78. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 258,459 shares in the company, valued at $68,540,742.21. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total transaction of $263,530.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $287,511.23. The trade was a 47.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.