Busey Bank Cuts Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Busey Bank decreased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 26,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 93 shares during the quarter. Busey Bank’s holdings in CME Group were worth $5,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth $36,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 62.2% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 66.1% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 515.2% in the second 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 period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $229.69 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $230.36. The firm has a market cap of $82.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.13, a PEG ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $218.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $208.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. Research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.07.

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.