Ascent Group LLC Purchases 6,202 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Ascent Group LLC grew its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 81.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,202 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 66.1% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 515.2% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 62.2% during the 3rd 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. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. This represents a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,028 shares of company stock valued at $1,811,681. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.47.

CME Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $238.00 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $225.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $238.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.77 billion, a PE ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

CME Group Company 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.