Baillie Gifford & Co. Makes New Investment in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 361,169 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $79,692,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 0.10% of CME Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at $2,403,279.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at $2,403,279.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CME Group Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ CME traded up $1.83 on Wednesday, hitting $228.14. 1,959,988 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,913,960. The company's 50-day moving average price is $222.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $230.36. The company has a market capitalization of $82.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a P/E/G ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.