Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 5,357 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,357 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in CME Group were worth $15,807,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.4% during the third quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 1,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in CME Group by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 41,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,117,000 after purchasing an additional 10,016 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Essex LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 40.6% in the third quarter. Essex LLC now owns 2,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director William R. Shepard bought 251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total transaction of $6,738,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $264.00 to $263.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $314.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $280.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.06.

CME Group Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ:CME opened at $262.45 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $225.46 and a 12 month high of $290.79. 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 has a market capitalization of $94.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.43, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $273.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $271.89.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.45%.

CME Group Company 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.