CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Holdings Boosted by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 60.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,332 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $16,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position 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 last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $76,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $229.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $230.74. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $223.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.19.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target 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, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $224.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,298. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 12.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.