CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Acquired by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 4.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 234,565 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,994 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank owned about 0.07% of CME Group worth $51,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 11.8% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich grew its holdings in CME Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 7,667 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its position in CME Group by 3.7% during the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,652,298. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CME Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $226.20.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $235.95. The stock had a trading volume of 1,695,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,966,768. The firm's 50 day moving average is $228.69 and its 200 day moving average is $213.48. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $85.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.73, a PEG 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.

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

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

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.