CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Martingale Asset Management L P

Martingale Asset Management L P lessened its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 34.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,670 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,723,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.7% in the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 10.2% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $238.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $238.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $225.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.94. The company has a market capitalization of $85.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03, a PEG ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total transaction of $1,019,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,131,291.92. This represents a 14.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,028 shares of company stock worth $1,811,681 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped 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. Four equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.