Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 32.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,445 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CME. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 188.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 515.2% during 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. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Trading Up 0.7 %

CME opened at $235.95 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $228.69 and its 200-day moving average is $213.48. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $249.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $5.80 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on CME. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $226.20.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The shares were 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 owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This represents a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,028 shares of company stock valued at $1,811,681. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About CME Group

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.