Ethic Inc. Sells 5,134 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Ethic Inc. cut its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 65,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,134 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $17,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 8.9% during the third quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 3.9% during the third quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 3,588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $940,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its position in shares of CME Group by 5.5% during the third quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 46,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,072,000 after purchasing an additional 2,409 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of CME Group by 12.6% during the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 421,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,404,000 after purchasing an additional 47,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leelyn Smith LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 12,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,189,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director Howard Siegel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.00, for a total transaction of $606,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,021,519. This represents a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William Shepard purchased 293 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $268.76 per share, for a total transaction of $78,746.68. Following the acquisition, the director owned 263,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,761,551.64. The trade was a 0.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,979 shares of company stock valued at $9,552,762. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. CLSA set a $367.00 target price on CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded CME Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on CME Group from $315.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded CME Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on CME Group from $337.00 to $359.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.44.

CME Group Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $305.89 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $109.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $283.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $280.79. 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.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.33% and a return on equity of 16.23%. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.34 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.66%.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group operates a global marketplace for derivatives and other financial products. Through its exchanges—CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX—it offers futures and options contracts tied to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals.

The company also provides clearing and settlement services, market data and related products. Its electronic trading platform, CME Globex, supports access to its markets by participants around the world, alongside its open-outcry and privately negotiated trading services.

CME Group was formed in 2007 through the merger of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade, institutions with roots in the 19th century.