Maple Capital Management Inc. Sells 273 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Maple Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 273 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for 1.1% of Maple Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $14,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CVA Family Office LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.7% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Essex LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Essex LLC now owns 1,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CME. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $228.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 note on Thursday, October 17th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.07.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $227.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $81.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $230.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $217.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $208.42.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

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.