Qsemble Capital Management LP Reduces Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Qsemble Capital Management LP cut its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 62.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,839 shares during the quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP's holdings in CME Group were worth $1,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in CME Group by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 515.2% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in CME Group by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME traded up $5.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $234.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,752,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,926,907. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company's 50-day moving average is $224.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.37. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $235.18. The stock has a market cap of $84.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.65, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The business's revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a "hold" rating and a $221.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $224.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This represents a 12.01 % 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 valued at $3,441,063. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Company 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.