Iron Financial LLC Has $10.89 Million Position in CME Group Inc. (CME)

Iron Financial LLC lowered its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,100 shares during the period. CME Group comprises about 9.7% of Iron Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Iron Financial LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $10,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CME. RMB Capital Management LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 3.1% in the first quarter. RMB Capital Management LLC now owns 114,834 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,642,000 after buying an additional 3,501 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 4.2% in the first quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 11,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,333,000 after buying an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial For Lutherans increased its stake in CME Group by 5.6% in the first quarter. Thrivent Financial For Lutherans now owns 12,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,485,000 after buying an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI acquired a new stake in CME Group during the first quarter worth $569,000. Finally, Dowling & Yahnke LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 1.7% in the first quarter. Dowling & Yahnke LLC now owns 6,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $813,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. 83.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ CME) opened at 125.92 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $42.80 billion, a PE ratio of 25.70 and a beta of 0.73. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.95 and a 52 week high of $127.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $123.49 and a 200 day moving average of $121.06.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 46.05%. The firm had revenue of $925 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post $4.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 53.99%.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank AG cut their price objective on shares of CME Group from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Jefferies Group LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $134.00 price objective (up from $128.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of CME Group from $133.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Finally, BidaskClub raised shares of CME Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.63.

In other news, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 10,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.85, for a total transaction of $1,209,730.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,556,166.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $25,228.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,463,249.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 91,085 shares of company stock valued at $11,242,896 over the last three months. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc, through its exchanges, provides products across all asset classes, including futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals. The Company’s segment primarily consists of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc (CME), Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc (CBOT), New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc (NYMEX) and Commodity Exchange, Inc (COMEX) exchanges.