CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Position Increased by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 60.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 72,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,332 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $16,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in CME Group in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 66.1% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 515.2% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 62.2% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $76,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on CME. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen began coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $224.47.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME opened at $229.37 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $82.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a P/E/G ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $230.74.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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

CME Group Company 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.