Dearborn Partners LLC Sells 2,453 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Dearborn Partners LLC reduced its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 63.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,453 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $317,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CME. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.1% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 113,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,935,000 after purchasing an additional 3,421 shares during the last quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co now owns 4,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $936,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Intellectus Partners LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $396,000. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,020,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the period. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 2,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $531,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $225.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.69, a PEG ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $222.52 and a 200-day moving average of $210.26. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $230.36.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.25 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’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 $2,877,504.39. This represents a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 stock was 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 $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 12.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their target price on CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen began coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $224.47.

CME Group Company 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.