Ceera Investments LLC Sells 425 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Ceera Investments LLC trimmed its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 425 shares during the period. CME Group comprises about 1.7% of Ceera Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Ceera Investments LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $4,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CME. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,477,000 after buying an additional 8,443 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in CME Group by 429.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 47,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,231,000 after purchasing an additional 38,540 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in CME Group by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 30,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,156,000 after purchasing an additional 3,325 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 99,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,518,000 after purchasing an additional 4,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 197.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 4,025 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $225.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69, a P/E/G ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $230.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.37.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. On average, analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $224.47.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. This represents a 12.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. This represents a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.