Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc Sells 7,038 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc lowered its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 15,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,038 shares during the period. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.8% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $264,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 9,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,888,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in CME Group by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,477,000 after buying an additional 8,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 700.0% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,028 shares of company stock worth $1,811,681. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $236.72 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $228.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $249.02. The firm has a market cap of $85.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89, a PEG ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.25 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $5.80 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Four research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $226.20.

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.