Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC Decreases Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,899 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up about 0.4% of Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $28,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CME. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 515.2% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 62.2% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This represents a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 12.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America lifted their target price on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $224.47.

CME Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $229.04 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $82.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $230.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.08.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

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.