Lifeworks Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Lifeworks Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 133 shares during the quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $531,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 11.8% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.7% in the second quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 7,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.7% in the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 10.2% in the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CME. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America upped 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. Barclays upped their price target on CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $224.47.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 8.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This represents a 12.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $223.42 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.17. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $230.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 5.26 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 (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. 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 2.06%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

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.