CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 34.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 957 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CME. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in CME Group by 0.6% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 11.8% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich boosted its stake in CME Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 7,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its holdings in CME Group by 3.7% during the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its position in CME Group by 10.2% in the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 0.8 %

CME stock opened at $225.28 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $222.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.37. The company has a market cap of $81.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69, a PEG ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $230.36. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. This represents a 8.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.