Verus Capital Partners LLC Lowers Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Verus Capital Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 68 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich lifted its holdings in CME Group by 0.7% in the second quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 7,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 4,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $224.47.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CME Group Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of CME opened at $225.93 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $221.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.93. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $230.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.