Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. Has $126.82 Million Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. cut its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 66.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 574,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,119,030 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises approximately 1.3% of Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. owned about 0.16% of CME Group worth $126,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 9.5% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 91,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,667,000 after buying an additional 7,960 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in CME Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,981,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $437,320,000 after acquiring an additional 26,642 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. increased its position in CME Group by 125.2% during the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 109,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,230,000 after acquiring an additional 61,054 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in CME Group by 27.1% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,262,000 after acquiring an additional 9,905 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in CME Group by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,826,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $403,017,000 after buying an additional 283,171 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target 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. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $224.47.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total value of $1,019,880.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,131,291.92. The trade was a 14.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $229.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $230.74. The company has a market cap of $82.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $223.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.07.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 48.37%.

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.