CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Purchased by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 287.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 186,608 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 138,412 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 0.05% of CME Group worth $41,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in CME Group by 3.2% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,029,145 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $595,530,000 after buying an additional 94,302 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in CME Group by 6.6% during the second 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. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 17.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $554,707,000 after buying an additional 380,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in CME Group by 11.9% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,230,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $492,072,000 after buying an additional 237,800 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. The trade was a 8.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,028 shares of company stock worth $1,811,681. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $226.20.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $234.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 794,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,962,923. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company's 50 day moving average is $228.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.48. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $249.02. The stock has a market cap of $84.60 billion, a PE ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 0.56.

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

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a dividend of $5.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This is an increase from CME Group's previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group's payout ratio is 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.