B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Takes $5.57 Million Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 25,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,569,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in CME Group by 24.1% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,809,175 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,403,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,069,806 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,038,676,000 after purchasing an additional 537,758 shares in the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd increased its stake in CME Group by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 4,009,068 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $863,112,000 after acquiring an additional 43,293 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of CME Group by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,029,145 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $595,530,000 after purchasing an additional 94,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 6.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,835,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $557,371,000 after purchasing an additional 176,004 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of CME Group stock traded down $1.66 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $228.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,113,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,913,094. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $223.21 and a 200 day moving average of $210.81. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $230.74. 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 company has a market capitalization of $82.16 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. CME Group's payout ratio is 48.37%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $244.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $224.47.

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.