Global Retirement Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Global Retirement Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 54 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 67.1% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $203,000. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.2% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth about $31,155,000. Finally, Central Valley Advisors LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 10.0% in the first quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 6,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after buying an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $228.32 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $230.12. The firm has a market cap of $82.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $216.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.32.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on CME. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on CME Group from $228.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.07.

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.