Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Buys 118 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in CME Group were worth $302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth about $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in CME Group by 515.2% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 62.2% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 CME Group stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 12.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Trading Up 1.1 %

CME opened at $229.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $230.74. The company’s 50-day moving average is $223.64 and its 200 day moving average is $211.09.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its 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. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 48.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price 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 cut their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded 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 report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.