Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Sells 13,924 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 76.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,924 shares during the quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the second quarter worth about $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 515.2% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, 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 valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 12.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $234.39 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $84.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a PEG ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $224.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.37. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $235.18.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly 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. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CME shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.