Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 566,602 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 10.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,790,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 566,602 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.33% of CME Group worth $1,294,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in CME Group by 11.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,660,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares during the period. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth $472,000. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth $227,000. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 1.2% during the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 57,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,838,000 after buying an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total transaction of $6,738,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on CME Group from $310.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $302.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $292.18.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $284.48 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $232.32 and a 52 week high of $290.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.58 billion, a PE ratio of 27.57, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.27. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $274.37 and its 200-day moving average is $272.05.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.45%.

About CME Group

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.