CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 651 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other 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 value 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. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,028 shares of company stock valued at $1,811,681 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $226.20.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $236.72 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $228.20 and its 200-day moving average is $213.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.89, a P/E/G ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $249.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

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.