CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. cut its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 36.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,320 shares during the quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $9,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,749,965,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in CME Group by 39.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,019,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,187,290,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130,587 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $867,313,000. Alphabet Inc. purchased a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $769,376,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth $629,771,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CME. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $281.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $337.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $292.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $286.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.44.

CME Group Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of CME stock opened at $304.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.98, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $283.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $280.92. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $218.31 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 63.33%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total transaction of $4,116,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,150,497.20. The trade was a 26.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.00, for a total transaction of $606,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,873 shares in the company, valued at $6,021,519. This trade represents a 9.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 32,979 shares of company stock worth $9,552,762 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group operates a global marketplace for derivatives and other financial products. Through its exchanges—CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX—it offers futures and options contracts tied to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals.

The company also provides clearing and settlement services, market data and related products. Its electronic trading platform, CME Globex, supports access to its markets by participants around the world, alongside its open-outcry and privately negotiated trading services.

CME Group was formed in 2007 through the merger of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade, institutions with roots in the 19th century.