PineStone Asset Management Inc. Sells 754,662 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

PineStone Asset Management Inc. cut its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 33.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,505,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 754,662 shares during the period. CME Group comprises about 3.2% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. PineStone Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.42% of CME Group worth $332,295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 515.2% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 62.2% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CME. Bank of America lifted 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, October 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,221 shares of company stock valued at $3,351,895 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $225.36 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $230.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.70, a P/E/G ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $220.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.34.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

About CME Group

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.