PineStone Asset Management Inc. Sells 109,200 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• PineStone Asset Management reduced its CME Group stake by 4%, selling 109,200 shares and retaining 2.61 million shares worth approximately $683.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 87.75% of CME’s stock.
• CME Group reported quarterly revenue of $1.71 billion and earnings of $2.99 per share, exceeding analyst expectations. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, equal to a 1.8% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with CME receiving an overall “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $292.94. The stock was recently trading near $293.87, while company insiders—including the CEO—reported share sales.

PineStone Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 4.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,610,147 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 109,200 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up about 4.5% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. PineStone Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.73% of CME Group worth $683,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kintegral Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 608.2% in the third quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 52,901 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,859,000 after acquiring an additional 45,431 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 10.2% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 39,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,562,000 after purchasing an additional 3,691 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Intelligence LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 15.3% during the third quarter. Wealth Intelligence LLC now owns 12,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676 shares during the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA boosted its position in CME Group by 0.9% during the third quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 57,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,998,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 24.2% in the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,726 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $293.87 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $274.12 and its 200-day moving average is $270.77. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $218.31 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The firm has a market cap of $105.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.30 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Elizabeth Cook sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.11, for a total transaction of $140,055.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,018,450.76. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence Duffy sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total value of $4,116,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,150,497.20. This trade represents a 26.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen raised CME Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on CME Group from $329.00 to $295.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded CME Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $292.94.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that provide trading, clearing and settlement services for futures and options contracts. Its products cover major asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy and metals. The company also provides market data, benchmark information and related services used by financial institutions, corporations, producers, investors and other market participants.

CME Group's exchange portfolio includes CME, the Chicago Board of Trade, the New York Mercantile Exchange and COMEX.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CME? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.