Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Trims Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 8.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 952 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,477,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of CME Group by 429.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 47,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,231,000 after buying an additional 38,540 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 12.2% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 30,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,156,000 after buying an additional 3,325 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 4.7% during the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 99,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,518,000 after acquiring an additional 4,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in CME Group by 197.2% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after acquiring an additional 4,025 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’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 owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. This represents a 12.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME stock opened at $225.28 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $230.36. The firm has a market cap of $81.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69, a PEG ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $210.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The company 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. Analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. 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. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $224.47.

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.