M&G Plc Lowers Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

M&G Plc lessened its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 918,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 68,946 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for approximately 1.0% of M&G Plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. M&G Plc owned approximately 0.26% of CME Group worth $203,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter valued at about $209,000. Catalina Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter valued at about $207,000. Capital Management Corp VA raised its position in CME Group by 4.5% during the third quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 34,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496 shares in the last quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter valued at about $226,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in CME Group by 77.8% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $221.17 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $221.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.75. 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 has a market cap of $79.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $230.36.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on CME. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $222.73.

CME Group Company 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.