CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Acquired by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 41.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,028,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 303,169 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.29% of CME Group worth $224,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CME. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 66.1% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 515.2% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 62.2% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $244.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their target price on CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $224.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,298. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 12.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock traded up $5.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $234.39. The stock had a trading volume of 2,752,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,926,907. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $235.18. The company has a market cap of $84.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $224.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced 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. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

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.