Assetmark Inc. Has $7 Million Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Assetmark Inc. cut its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,253 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $6,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Caldwell Trust Co raised its stake in CME Group by 116.3% in the third quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC bought a new stake in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $303.07 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $244.43 and a 52-week high of $309.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $280.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $274.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.27.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group’s payout ratio is 44.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $224,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $809,700. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on CME Group from $264.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Argus decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $302.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.53.

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.