Dearborn Partners LLC Has $317,000 Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Dearborn Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 63.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,453 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors 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% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in CME Group by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich increased its position in CME Group by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 7,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its position in CME Group by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $224.47.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $225.28 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $222.52 and a 200-day moving average of $210.26. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $230.36. The stock has a market cap of $81.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This represents a 12.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.