Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 26,642 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,981,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,642 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.55% of CME Group worth $437,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CME. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 137.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,260,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309,097 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in CME Group by 577.9% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 645,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,872,000 after purchasing an additional 550,133 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 11.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,038,676,000 after purchasing an additional 537,758 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 21,465.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,072,070,000 after purchasing an additional 483,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $79,692,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $226.96 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $223.40 and a 200-day moving average of $210.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $230.74.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CME. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price objective on the stock. 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, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Redburn Atlantic cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.47.

CME Group 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.