LRI Investments LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

LRI Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 123 shares during the quarter. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $90,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in CME Group by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $264,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in 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 worth $9,477,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 700.0% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 63,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,481,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME opened at $239.19 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $228.20 and its 200-day moving average is $213.16. The stock has a market cap of $86.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a $5.80 dividend. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were 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 owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,028 shares of company stock valued at $1,811,681. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen started coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $226.20.

CME Group 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.