CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Raymond James & Associates

Raymond James & Associates trimmed its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,865,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 164,003 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.80% of CME Group worth $632,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 24.1% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,809,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,403,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,069,806 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,038,676,000 after buying an additional 537,758 shares during the period. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.1% in the first quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 4,009,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $863,112,000 after acquiring an additional 43,293 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of CME Group by 6.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,835,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $557,371,000 after acquiring an additional 176,004 shares during the period. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.3% in the first quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 2,284,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,784,000 after acquiring an additional 30,320 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price objective on the stock. Four 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other 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 transaction 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME traded up $1.09 on Friday, reaching $228.32. The company had a trading volume of 1,203,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,941,867. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $230.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.21 billion, a PE ratio of 25.97, a P/E/G ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $216.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $208.39.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.33%.

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.