Harmony Asset Management LLC Has $3.93 Million Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Harmony Asset Management LLC lowered its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 249 shares during the period. CME Group makes up 1.4% of Harmony Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Harmony Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in CME Group by 429.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 9,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,098,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 197.2% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 4,025 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 22,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,442,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 4.1% in the second quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 8,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,575,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $235.61 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $238.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.90 billion, a PE ratio of 24.77, a P/E/G ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.96.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,298. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,028 shares of company stock valued at $1,811,681. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on CME. Barclays upped their price target on CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $224.47.

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.