Farmers Trust Co. Decreases Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Farmers Trust Co. lessened its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 31,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 101 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for 1.3% of Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $6,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 28,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,969,000 after acquiring an additional 2,591 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in shares of CME Group by 231.8% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 54,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,405,000 after purchasing an additional 37,836 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,779,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $795,914,000 after purchasing an additional 111,129 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 123.7% during the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 6,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 3,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in CME Group by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 12,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $224.27 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $211.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $226.78.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s 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 owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The stock was 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on CME. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price objective on CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.77.

CME Group 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.