National Bank of Canada FI Has $96.67 Million Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 75.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 437,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 187,715 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.12% of CME Group worth $96,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CME. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in CME Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 66.1% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 515.2% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 62.2% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Down 2.7 %

CME opened at $239.38 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $249.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $227.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $212.98. The company has a market capitalization of $86.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.17, a P/E/G ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on CME. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,028 shares of company stock worth $1,811,681 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.