Perpetual Ltd Acquires 4,493 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 112.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,493 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bluefin Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $2,891,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its position in CME Group by 81.4% in the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 44,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,588,000 after purchasing an additional 19,985 shares in the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services increased its stake in CME Group by 66.5% in the 1st quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 45,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,708,000 after buying an additional 18,017 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,477,000 after buying an additional 8,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,184,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $221.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.17, a PEG ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $226.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $213.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $207.83.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued 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. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America raised their target price on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $217.71.

CME Group Company 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.