CME Group Inc. $CME Stock Position Raised by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 126,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,468 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in CME Group were worth $34,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Caldwell Trust Co increased its holdings in CME Group by 116.3% in the third quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new stake in CME Group in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC bought a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total transaction of $1,300,530.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 43,007 shares in the company, valued at $13,317,117.55. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $224,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $809,700. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,248 shares of company stock valued at $1,616,700. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $311.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $248.53 and a one year high of $329.16. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $295.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $279.06. The stock has a market cap of $112.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.24.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.59%.

Key Stories Impacting CME Group

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its price target on CME to $347 (maintaining a “neutral” rating), implying roughly double-digit upside from recent levels and offering fresh analyst support for the shares. Rothschild Co Redburn adjusts price target on CME to 347 from 333, maintains neutral rating
• Neutral Sentiment: CME’s CEO Terry Duffy publicly warned that U.S. government intervention in oil futures markets would be highly damaging; exchanges including CME have voiced opposition to potential Treasury action. This raises policy/regulatory risk for energy derivatives but also underscores the exchange’s central role in market integrity — a factor that can support trading volumes in energy products if volatility rises. US intervention in oil futures would be ‘biblical disaster’, CME warns CME Group CEO warns against US intervention in oil futures markets US intervention in oil futures market could be disastrous: CME Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting in recent feeds shows zero or nonsensical values and appears to be a data anomaly rather than a real bearish signal; treat those short-interest items with caution. (Market impact minimal until corrected.)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Ken Vroman (Chief Transformation Officer) sold about 5,160 shares (~$1.59M) and SEC filings show multiple recent insider sales across senior staff. While insider sales can be routine, the cadence and size may raise governance/owner-sentiment questions for some investors. CME Group’s Vroman sells $1.59 million in stock Insider Sale: Chief Transformation Officer of $CME Sells 5,160 Shares

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $302.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $333.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on CME Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.53.

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.