CME Group Inc. $CME Stock Purchased by Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 41.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 27.8% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 44,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,683,000 after purchasing an additional 9,702 shares in the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after buying an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 3,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $955,000 after buying an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its holdings in CME Group by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 192,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,442,000 after buying an additional 33,169 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on CME Group from $281.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $286.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised CME Group from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $367.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised CME Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $313.29.

Key Stories Impacting CME Group

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CME Group reported record third-quarter revenue of approximately $1.74 billion and record average daily volume of 29.4 million contracts. October activity is also tracking at the highest October average daily volume on record, supporting the company’s growth outlook. CME Group Slides as Investors Digest Recent Earnings and Mixed Post-Report Signals
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded CME Group to Rank #2, or “Buy,” citing improving optimism about the company’s earnings prospects. CME Upgraded to Buy: Here’s Why
• Positive Sentiment: Brazilian real futures traded a record daily volume following Brazil’s election, highlighting demand for CME’s products during periods of political and currency-market volatility. CME Group Brazilian Real Futures Set New Daily Volume Record Following Election
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst price targets remain mixed, with a reported median target of $305 and recent targets ranging from $260 to $323, indicating support for the business but limited consensus on near-term upside.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors may be digesting last week’s earnings announcement after a significant share-price run-up. Although results were strong, they may not have exceeded elevated expectations enough to sustain momentum, prompting profit-taking or a valuation reset. CME Group Slides as Investors Digest Recent Earnings and Mixed Post-Report Signals
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Sunil Cutinho sold 5,000 shares worth approximately $1.49 million, reducing his direct holdings by nearly 20%. The transaction is a modest sentiment negative, although one insider sale does not necessarily indicate a change in CME’s fundamentals. Sunil Cutinho Insider Trading Activity

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $293.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $278.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $279.51. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $218.31 and a fifty-two week high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.68 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.11, for a total value of $140,055.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,450.76. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 293 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $268.76 per share, for a total transaction of $78,746.68. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 263,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,761,551.64. The trade was a 0.11% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,900 shares of company stock worth $5,871,155. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that provide trading, clearing and settlement services for futures and options contracts. Its products cover major asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy and metals. The company also provides market data, benchmark information and related services used by financial institutions, corporations, producers, investors and other market participants.

CME Group’s exchange portfolio includes CME, the Chicago Board of Trade, the New York Mercantile Exchange and COMEX.