Ritholtz Wealth Management Lowers Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Ritholtz Wealth Management decreased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 13.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 545 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in CME Group were worth $798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in CME Group in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in CME Group by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Up 1.1 %

CME opened at $224.20 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $215.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.94. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $226.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $80.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51, a P/E/G ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.53.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other 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 value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the 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 owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.