CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Cravens & Co Advisors LLC

Cravens & Co Advisors LLC trimmed its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 317 shares during the period. CME Group comprises about 0.8% of Cravens & Co Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 515.2% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $234.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $84.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a PEG ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.55. 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 $235.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $224.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.37.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 12.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by 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.