CME Group Inc. $CME Stake Cut by TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lessened its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 54.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,468 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,738 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Caldwell Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 116.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in CME Group in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new position in CME Group in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new position in CME Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America raised their target price on CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $280.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $302.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $292.18.

CME Group Stock Down 0.3%

CME Group stock opened at $289.06 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $233.66 and a 52 week high of $291.76. The stock has a market cap of $104.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.01, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $275.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 48.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the purchase, the director owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total value of $263,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,091 shares in the company, valued at $287,511.23. This represents a 47.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.