CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Acquired by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 271 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 24.1% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,809,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,403,557,000 after buying an additional 3,069,806 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 137.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,260,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $444,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309,097 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new position in CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $156,631,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in CME Group by 577.9% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 645,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,872,000 after purchasing an additional 550,133 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 11.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,038,676,000 after purchasing an additional 537,758 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $223.42 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $222.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.17. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $230.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $80.45 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.55.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CME shares. Citigroup increased their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease 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, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This represents a 12.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About CME Group

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.