CME Group Inc. $CME Stock Holdings Lowered by Burney Co.

Burney Co. cut its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 67.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,142 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 206.9% during the 2nd quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 84.3% in the 2nd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 59.2% in the 2nd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $276.73 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $99.79 billion, a PE ratio of 26.81, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $273.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $271.90. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $224.62 and a 52 week high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.45%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total transaction of $263,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $287,511.23. This trade represents a 47.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total value of $6,738,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $313.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $264.00 to $263.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $310.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $314.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $290.82.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.