CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 98.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 729,658 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 58.4% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 613,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,441,000 after acquiring an additional 226,306 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,823,964,000 after purchasing an additional 142,692 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of CME Group by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,028,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,432,000 after purchasing an additional 303,169 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,826,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $403,017,000 after purchasing an additional 283,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 39.7% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 204,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,065,000 after purchasing an additional 58,037 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.2 %

CME opened at $232.25 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $83.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $233.43 and its 200-day moving average is $220.35. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $249.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.