Boston Common Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 480 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $7,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 66.1% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 515.2% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $221.25 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $226.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $213.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.67 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $217.71.

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.