CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Raymond James Trust N.A.

Raymond James Trust N.A. lowered its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,783 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $7,888,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 11.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,038,676,000 after acquiring an additional 537,758 shares during the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.1% during the first quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 4,009,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $863,112,000 after purchasing an additional 43,293 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in CME Group by 3.2% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,029,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $595,530,000 after buying an additional 94,302 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in CME Group by 6.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,835,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $557,371,000 after buying an additional 176,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 137.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,260,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,443,000 after buying an additional 1,309,097 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $226.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $81.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $230.74. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be 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 is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This represents a 12.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $224.47.

About CME Group

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.