CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Position Boosted by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 419,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 17,508 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of CME Group worth $92,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 11.8% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 7,667 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.7% in the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 10.2% in the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $229.33.

CME Group Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $238.53 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $230.71 and a 200-day moving average of $214.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.96 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.25 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $5.80 per share. This is a boost from CME Group's previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,298. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the company'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 sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Company 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.