Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Raises Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,613 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in CME Group were worth $10,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CME. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $7,615,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 48,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,114,000 after purchasing an additional 5,795 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 52.4% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 96,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,198,000 after purchasing an additional 8,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 0.5 %

CME stock opened at $235.42 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $228.69 and a 200 day moving average of $213.48. The firm has a market cap of $84.84 billion, a PE ratio of 24.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. This represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,028 shares of company stock worth $1,811,681. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen started coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $226.20.

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.