New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 2,051 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 274,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,051 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in CME Group were worth $74,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 206.9% during the 2nd quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co boosted its position in CME Group by 116.3% during the third quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 84.3% in the second quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of CME opened at $262.45 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $225.46 and a 12 month high of $290.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $273.95 and its 200-day moving average is $271.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.27. 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 (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.45%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total transaction of $6,738,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 65,804 shares in the company, valued at $17,737,468.20. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on CME shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of CME Group from $264.00 to $263.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on CME Group from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Argus lowered their target price on CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $291.06.

CME Group Profile

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.