Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC lessened its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 604 shares during the quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $7,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 66.1% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 515.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised 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 worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $223.08 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $220.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $209.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a P/E/G ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $230.36. 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 (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. Equities 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 paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CME shares. TD Cowen assumed coverage on CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.73.

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.