Entropy Technologies LP Sells 24,985 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Entropy Technologies LP trimmed its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 89.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,985 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in CME Group were worth $661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in CME Group by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,505,000 after buying an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,510,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 328.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 10,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,392,000 after purchasing an additional 8,040 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 39.7% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 204,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,065,000 after purchasing an additional 58,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YCG LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. YCG LLC now owns 128,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,365,000 after purchasing an additional 7,209 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. This represents a 12.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $223.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99, a PEG ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $230.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $222.44 and a 200 day moving average of $210.17.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. 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 research note on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.47.

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.