Canoe Financial LP Has $150.30 Million Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Canoe Financial LP trimmed its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 556,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,800 shares during the period. CME Group comprises approximately 2.1% of Canoe Financial LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Canoe Financial LP owned approximately 0.15% of CME Group worth $150,296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,571,447,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 185.5% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,244,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $330,182,000 after acquiring an additional 808,740 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the second quarter worth approximately $164,648,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 1.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,176,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,695,313,000 after acquiring an additional 532,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its position in CME Group by 131,625.5% during the 2nd quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 486,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,970,000 after purchasing an additional 485,698 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total value of $6,738,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. This trade represents a 27.53% 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 Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total transaction of $263,530.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $287,511.23. This trade represents a 47.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $264.00 to $263.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of CME Group from $309.00 to $307.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 13th. Bank of America increased their price target on CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on CME Group from $313.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $290.82.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $276.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $272.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $224.62 and a 1-year high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 58.84%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.45%.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.