World Investment Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 34,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,615,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $264,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 21.2% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,205 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,477,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 700.0% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of CME Group by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 70,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,862,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the period. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $226.20.

CME Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $0.80 during trading on Friday, hitting $236.75. 654,507 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,961,198. 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 $85.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $228.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.64.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a $5.80 dividend. 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 is presently 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,028 shares of company stock worth $1,811,681. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.