Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Lowers Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. reduced its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,355 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 137.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,260,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309,097 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in CME Group by 577.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 645,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,872,000 after purchasing an additional 550,133 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,038,676,000 after purchasing an additional 537,758 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in CME Group by 21,465.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,072,070,000 after purchasing an additional 483,618 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth about $79,692,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:CME opened at $229.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $223.64 and a 200-day moving average of $211.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $230.74.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.25 EPS. Analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on CME. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $224.47.

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.