Mather Group LLC. Lowers Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Mather Group LLC. decreased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 77.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,676 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in CME Group by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,809,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,403,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,069,806 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 137.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,260,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,443,000 after buying an additional 1,309,097 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at $156,631,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in CME Group by 577.9% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 645,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,872,000 after acquiring an additional 550,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,038,676,000 after purchasing an additional 537,758 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $217.71.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $221.25 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $226.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $213.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.83. The firm has a market cap of $79.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.17, a P/E/G ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The stock was 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 $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 transaction of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.