Maple Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Maple Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 65,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 273 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up 1.1% of Maple Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $14,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors raised its position in CME Group by 24.1% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,809,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,403,557,000 after acquiring an additional 3,069,806 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 11.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,038,676,000 after acquiring an additional 537,758 shares during the period. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd raised its position in CME Group by 1.1% during the first quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 4,009,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $863,112,000 after acquiring an additional 43,293 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in CME Group by 3.2% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,029,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $595,530,000 after acquiring an additional 94,302 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of CME Group by 6.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,835,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $557,371,000 after buying an additional 176,004 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $227.05 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $81.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $217.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $208.42. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $230.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. CME Group’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.33%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut 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 report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.07.

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.