Guinness Asset Management LTD Boosts Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 983,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,061 shares during the period. CME Group comprises 4.1% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD owned approximately 0.27% of CME Group worth $216,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on 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. lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $217.71.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $221.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,123,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,954,162. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $226.78. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $214.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $79.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a PEG ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.72%.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group 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 sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This 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.

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.