Czech National Bank Buys 4,742 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Czech National Bank grew its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 6.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,742 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in CME Group were worth $16,186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 66.1% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 515.2% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $224.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,585,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,959,577. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $226.78. The company has a market capitalization of $80.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53, a PEG ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.75.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CME. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $213.77.

About CME Group

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.