Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Decreases Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lessened its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 47.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,160 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in CME Group were worth $285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 66.1% in the second 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. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 515.2% during 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 during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $76,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME opened at $229.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.07. The firm has a market cap of $82.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $230.74.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. 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 currently 48.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group 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. The trade was a 12.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.