Park Avenue Securities LLC Decreases Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lowered its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,031 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 515.2% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $213.77.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $224.43 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $226.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $80.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $212.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.69.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.33%.

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.