SPC Financial Inc. Sells 144 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

SPC Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 144 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 66.1% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 515.2% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. TD Cowen started coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.07.

CME Group Trading Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ CME opened at $227.23 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $230.12. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $216.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.28. The stock has a market cap of $81.82 billion, a PE ratio of 25.85, a PEG ratio of 7.76 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

CME Group 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.