Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. Has $13.32 Million Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 49,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,341 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises approximately 7.0% of Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $13,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caldwell Trust Co boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 116.3% during the third quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on CME shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.53.

CME Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its price target on CME to $347 (maintaining a “neutral” rating), implying roughly double-digit upside from recent levels and offering fresh analyst support for the shares. Rothschild Co Redburn adjusts price target on CME to 347 from 333, maintains neutral rating
• Neutral Sentiment: CME’s CEO Terry Duffy publicly warned that U.S. government intervention in oil futures markets would be highly damaging; exchanges including CME have voiced opposition to potential Treasury action. This raises policy/regulatory risk for energy derivatives but also underscores the exchange’s central role in market integrity — a factor that can support trading volumes in energy products if volatility rises. US intervention in oil futures would be ‘biblical disaster’, CME warns CME Group CEO warns against US intervention in oil futures markets US intervention in oil futures market could be disastrous: CME Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting in recent feeds shows zero or nonsensical values and appears to be a data anomaly rather than a real bearish signal; treat those short-interest items with caution. (Market impact minimal until corrected.)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Ken Vroman (Chief Transformation Officer) sold about 5,160 shares (~$1.59M) and SEC filings show multiple recent insider sales across senior staff. While insider sales can be routine, the cadence and size may raise governance/owner-sentiment questions for some investors. CME Group’s Vroman sells $1.59 million in stock Insider Sale: Chief Transformation Officer of $CME Sells 5,160 Shares

CME Group Trading Up 0.1%

CME opened at $311.40 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $295.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $278.94. The company has a market capitalization of $112.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.24. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $248.53 and a 52 week high of $329.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.52 EPS. CME Group’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.59%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $224,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $809,700. The trade was a 21.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,647,194.10. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,248 shares of company stock valued at $1,616,700. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.