CME Group Inc. $CME Stock: Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Trims Position

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 25,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,914 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $6,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CME. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board lifted its stake in CME Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 11,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,899,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S acquired a new position in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $108,676,000. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp purchased a new position in CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Balance Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Terrence Duffy sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total value of $4,116,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,150,497.20. This trade represents a 26.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.70, for a total transaction of $1,493,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,037 shares in the company, valued at $5,985,051.90. The trade was a 19.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,900 shares of company stock worth $5,871,155. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised CME Group from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $367.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CME Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $286.00 to $270.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CME Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $313.29.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $294.04 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $279.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $279.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $218.31 and a 1-year high of $329.16. The company has a market cap of $105.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.24.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 63.33%. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. Analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.66%.

Key Stories Impacting CME Group

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record futures volume is improving sentiment toward CME Group. The company recently reported record third-quarter revenue of approximately $1.74 billion and record average daily volume of 29.4 million contracts, while October activity was tracking at the strongest October level on record. The combination of elevated market volatility and strong trading activity makes CME’s earnings outlook more compelling. CME Group Looks Better Valued As Record Real Futures Volume Lifts Sentiment
• Positive Sentiment: CME Group’s Brazilian real futures set a record for daily volume following Brazil’s election, highlighting demand for the company’s currency products during periods of political and foreign-exchange volatility. CME Group Brazilian Real Futures Set New Daily Volume Record Following Election
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded CME to a Rank #2, or “Buy,” citing improving earnings prospects. Analysts have also raised several price targets, with the broader analyst consensus remaining above the recent trading level. CME Upgraded to Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: The Federal Reserve’s rate decision is being closely monitored, with markets expecting rates to remain unchanged. Stable rates may reduce uncertainty, but the impact on CME depends on how interest-rate and currency trading volumes respond. US Fed Opens Two-Day Meeting
• Negative Sentiment: After a strong run-up, investors may be taking profits or reassessing CME’s valuation despite its solid earnings beat and record volumes. This could limit near-term upside if results do not continue to exceed elevated expectations. CME Group Slides as Investors Digest Recent Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Sunil Cutinho sold 5,000 CME shares for approximately $1.49 million, reducing his direct stake by nearly 20%. The sale is a modest sentiment negative, though it does not by itself signal deteriorating fundamentals. CME Group Insider Sale

About CME Group

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that provide trading, clearing and settlement services for futures and options contracts. Its products cover major asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy and metals. The company also provides market data, benchmark information and related services used by financial institutions, corporations, producers, investors and other market participants.

CME Group’s exchange portfolio includes CME, the Chicago Board of Trade, the New York Mercantile Exchange and COMEX.