CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Cornerstone Advisors LLC

Cornerstone Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $218.53 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $223.80. The stock has a market cap of $78.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $206.16 and a 200-day moving average of $207.48.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. 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 note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America cut shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $212.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.73.

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.