Greystone Financial Group LLC Lowers Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Greystone Financial Group LLC decreased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 385 shares during the quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CME. Oak Harvest Investment Services raised its holdings in CME Group by 66.5% during the first quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 45,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,708,000 after purchasing an additional 18,017 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 21.2% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,477,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in CME Group during the first quarter worth approximately $1,455,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 312.2% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 56,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,222,000 after purchasing an additional 42,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in CME Group by 429.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 47,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,231,000 after purchasing an additional 38,540 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. The trade was 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 through the SEC website. In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated 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 $2,877,504.39. This represents 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 company insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $227.14 on Thursday. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $230.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average is $218.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

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.