CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Raymond James Trust N.A.

Raymond James Trust N.A. lessened its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 7.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 35,747 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,783 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $7,888,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,205 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,477,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in CME Group by 429.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 47,521 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,231,000 after purchasing an additional 38,540 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in CME Group by 12.2% during the 2nd 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 stake in shares of CME Group by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 99,947 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,518,000 after buying an additional 4,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 197.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,066 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,306,000 after buying an additional 4,025 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of CME Group 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 12.01 % 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 valued at $3,441,063 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CME. 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 research note on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $244.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a "hold" rating and a $221.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $224.47.

CME Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $2.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $229.04. 3,010,746 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,917,717. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $230.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $223.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.92. The company has a market cap of $82.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for 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 company'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 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

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.