CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Holdings Decreased by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 795,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,305 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.22% of CME Group worth $171,367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CME. Gold Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 966.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total value of $1,501,899.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,153,999.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,290 shares of company stock valued at $11,393,700 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $228.00 to $208.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $206.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.82.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded down $2.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $197.44. 2,175,344 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,962,732. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company’s 50 day moving average is $200.60 and its 200 day moving average is $207.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 0.52. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $188.36 and a one year high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.77 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.33%.

About CME Group

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.