Assetmark Inc. Acquires 1,249 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $5,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,744,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc raised its position in shares of CME Group by 3.4% in the third quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 75,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,169,000 after purchasing an additional 2,465 shares during the period. Windward Capital Management Co. CA lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. Windward Capital Management Co. CA now owns 88,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,460,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,963,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $252,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ CME opened at $225.93 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $230.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $221.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.84. The company has a market capitalization of $81.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80, a PEG ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.55.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.47.

CME Group 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.