11,900 CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp decreased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 152,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,900 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in CME Group were worth $39,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CME. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at $6,749,965,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of CME Group by 39.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,019,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,187,290,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130,587 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth $867,313,000. Alphabet Inc. purchased a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth $769,376,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth $629,771,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:CME opened at $315.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.02, a PEG ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.15. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $218.31 and a 1-year high of $329.16. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $285.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $281.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.33% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.35 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CME. Deutsche Bank cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on CME Group from $315.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on CME Group from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised CME Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.44.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 10,079 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.15, for a total transaction of $3,075,606.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 21,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,555,232.30. This trade represents a 31.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Howard Siegel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.00, for a total value of $606,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,021,519. This trade represents a 9.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 33,511 shares of company stock worth $9,714,580 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Profile

CME Group operates a global marketplace for derivatives and other financial products. Through its exchanges—CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX—it offers futures and options contracts tied to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals. The company also provides clearing and settlement services, market data and related products. Its electronic trading platform, CME Globex, supports access to its markets by participants around the world, alongside its open-outcry and privately negotiated trading services.