Empirical Finance LLC Boosts Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 66.1% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 62.2% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $76,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $223.42 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $230.36. 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 has a market capitalization of $80.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.17.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen began coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $224.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 8.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,298. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, 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.