Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 92,150 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 47.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 92,150 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $26,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth $6,749,965,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in CME Group in the second quarter valued at about $867,313,000. Alphabet Inc. purchased a new position in CME Group in the second quarter valued at about $769,376,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in CME Group in the second quarter worth about $629,771,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in CME Group in the second quarter worth about $622,679,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $315.86 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $284.54 and its 200 day moving average is $281.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $218.31 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.15.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 63.33%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.66%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 2,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.00, for a total transaction of $606,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,021,519. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 10,079 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.15, for a total transaction of $3,075,606.85. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,555,232.30. The trade was a 31.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 33,511 shares of company stock worth $9,714,580 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on CME shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CME Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of CME Group from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $367.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $337.00 to $359.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $286.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.44.

CME Group Profile

CME Group operates a global marketplace for derivatives and other financial products. Through its exchanges—CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX—it offers futures and options contracts tied to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals. The company also provides clearing and settlement services, market data and related products. Its electronic trading platform, CME Globex, supports access to its markets by participants around the world, alongside its open-outcry and privately negotiated trading services.