CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Townsend & Associates Inc

Townsend & Associates Inc reduced its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,046 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for about 1.7% of Townsend & Associates Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings in CME Group were worth $16,768,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,643,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,190,661,000 after purchasing an additional 400,737 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,113,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,091,401,000 after purchasing an additional 363,130 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,920,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $804,823,000 after purchasing an additional 84,005 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 29.9% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,818,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $747,744,000 after purchasing an additional 648,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,783,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $735,539,000 after purchasing an additional 260,065 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $267.93 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $267.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $271.40. The company has a market cap of $96.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.94, a PEG ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.41. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $213.94 and a 12 month high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 48.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total transaction of $102,704.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 7,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,056,962. The trade was a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 258,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,540,742.21. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,043 shares of company stock worth $3,527,956. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on CME Group from $303.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on CME Group from $281.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $283.71.

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.