Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc Lowers Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc lowered its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 31.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,038 shares during the period. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc's holdings in CME Group were worth $3,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 21.2% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,205 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,477,000 after buying an additional 8,443 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in CME Group by 12.2% during the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 30,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,325 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 58.4% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 613,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $135,441,000 after purchasing an additional 226,306 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 40.8% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,742 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,112,000 after purchasing an additional 3,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 149.4% during the second quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 23,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,671,000 after purchasing an additional 14,234 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $244.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $226.20.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business'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 transaction of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,028 shares of company stock worth $1,811,681 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock traded up $2.47 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $239.19. 1,996,436 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,956,379. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.19 billion, a PE ratio of 24.89, a P/E/G ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $249.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $228.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $5.80 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About CME Group

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.