Zions Bancorporation N.A. Boosts Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 62.2% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 during the period. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 515.2% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth about $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 12.01 % 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 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. 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 note on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, TD Cowen started 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 for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $224.47.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $225.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $81.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $230.36. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.26.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. CME Group’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

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.