CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. cut its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,698 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CME. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 11.8% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich grew its stake in CME Group by 0.7% in the second quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 7,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in CME Group by 3.7% in the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 10.2% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $229.04 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 0.55. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $223.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.08. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $230.74.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $89,168.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer upped their price target on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.