Bank & Trust Co Takes Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $76,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Second Half Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,737,000. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,823,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 2.3% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,041,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,230,000 after buying an additional 23,340 shares during the period. Bluefin Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,891,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 81.4% during the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 44,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,588,000 after buying an additional 19,985 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, Director Terry L. Savage sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.65, for a total transaction of $526,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,441 shares in the company, valued at $3,673,946.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other CME Group news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,399,936.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Terry L. Savage sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.65, for a total value of $526,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,673,946.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,290 shares of company stock worth $2,957,300 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $187.00 target price (up from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Bank of America increased their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on CME Group from $195.00 to $193.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $212.64.

CME Group Stock Up 2.6 %

CME Group stock traded up $5.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $202.38. 3,213,383 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,969,692. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $223.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $198.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 0.52.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

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.