KKM Financial LLC Has $2.35 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

KKM Financial LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 695 shares during the period. KKM Financial LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 137.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,260,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $444,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309,097 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 577.9% in 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. increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 21,465.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,072,070,000 after purchasing an additional 483,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at $79,692,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Trading Up 1.1 %

CME opened at $229.04 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $230.74. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. CME Group’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on CME. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.