Hartford Investment Management Co. Has $5 Million Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Hartford Investment Management Co. lessened its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 427 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $4,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 515.2% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Down 1.4 %

CME stock traded down $3.11 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $223.06. The company had a trading volume of 441,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,930,058. The stock has a market cap of $80.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.73, a PEG ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $217.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $208.53. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $230.12.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors 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 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group 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 transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. 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 owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.07.

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.