Parnassus Investments LLC Sells 2,825,125 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Parnassus Investments LLC decreased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 55.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,257,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,825,125 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $498,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its position in CME Group by 24.1% during the 1st 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 last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 137.6% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,260,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309,097 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in CME Group by 577.9% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 645,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,872,000 after purchasing an additional 550,133 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,038,676,000 after buying an additional 537,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 21,465.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,072,070,000 after buying an additional 483,618 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of CME opened at $227.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $82.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $230.36. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $222.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $210.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 have sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. 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 note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.47.

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.