IRON Financial LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

IRON Financial LLC lowered its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 58,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 198 shares during the period. CME Group comprises about 7.1% of IRON Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. IRON Financial LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $13,007,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the first quarter valued at about $274,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 9.7% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 9,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,962,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.9% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $989,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth about $321,000. Finally, Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 10,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,277,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. The trade was 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, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,403,279.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,221 shares of company stock valued at $3,351,895. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of CME traded down $1.36 on Thursday, hitting $225.90. 433,032 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,914,530. The company has a market capitalization of $81.34 billion, a PE ratio of 25.85, a P/E/G ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $220.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.23. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $230.36.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.25 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.73.

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.