Keynote Financial Services LLC Takes $327,000 Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at $274,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.9% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $989,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in CME Group during the first quarter worth about $1,455,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 10.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 61,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,244,000 after purchasing an additional 5,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in CME Group in the first quarter valued at about $457,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:CME opened at $222.04 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $230.36. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $221.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $79.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’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 value of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CME. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on 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 lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen initiated 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.73.

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.