American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 1,294 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,294 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $9,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aveo Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $226,000. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $663,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $547,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 342.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 176,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,253,000 after purchasing an additional 136,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 49,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,368,000 after purchasing an additional 2,441 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.7 %

CME opened at $213.16 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $207.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. Analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CME. Barclays raised their price objective on CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America downgraded shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $212.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.73.

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.