Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Sells 3,703 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. reduced its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 76.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,703 shares during the quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 515.2% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related 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 value of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on CME. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.07.

CME Group Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $226.17 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $81.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.73, a PEG ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $230.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $217.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $208.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.