CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Bought by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 138.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,046 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in CME Group were worth $10,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its position in CME Group by 206.9% during the second quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 84.3% during the 2nd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 59.2% in the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in CME Group during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $273.74 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $272.42 and a 200 day moving average of $272.03. The firm has a market cap of $98.71 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.28. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $224.62 and a one year high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CME shares. Barclays boosted their price target on CME Group from $280.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $282.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $290.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director William R. Shepard bought 262 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 258,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,540,742.21. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total value of $6,738,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,737,468.20. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.