Entropy Technologies LP Reduces Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Entropy Technologies LP cut its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 89.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,985 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in CME Group were worth $661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CME. Capital International Investors boosted its position in CME Group by 24.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,069,806 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 11.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 537,758 shares during the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd boosted its position in CME Group by 1.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 43,293 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in CME Group by 3.2% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,029,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $595,530,000 after purchasing an additional 94,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in 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 worth $557,371,000 after purchasing an additional 176,004 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group 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 transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 12.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $223.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.45 billion, a PE ratio of 23.99, a P/E/G ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $230.36.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The business 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.47.

CME Group 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.