CME Group Inc. $CME Stock Sold by Cornerstone Advisors LLC

Cornerstone Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 35.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,056 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $11,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in CME Group by 26.4% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 69,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,214,000 after acquiring an additional 14,501 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,193,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $312,605,000 after purchasing an additional 83,770 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 1,013.4% during the 3rd quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. now owns 561,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,407,000 after purchasing an additional 511,215 shares during the period. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators now owns 54,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,233,000 after purchasing an additional 3,370 shares during the period. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of CME Group by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ CME opened at $317.97 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $218.31 and a 52 week high of $329.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $113.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $286.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $281.54.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 63.33%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.35 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company 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 $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CME Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. CLSA set a $367.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $292.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Daniel Kaye sold 532 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.17, for a total value of $161,818.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,311,885.21. This represents a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence Duffy sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total transaction of $4,116,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,630 shares in the company, valued at $11,150,497.20. The trade was a 26.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,511 shares of company stock valued at $9,714,580. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company 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.