Hamlin Capital Management LLC Sells 184,899 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Hamlin Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 25.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 537,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 184,899 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for 2.7% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $118,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,147,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Endowment Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME stock opened at $264.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $95.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business has a 50 day moving average of $249.70 and a 200-day moving average of $281.01. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $218.31 and a 12-month high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%.CME Group’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CME shares. TD Cowen cut their price target on CME Group from $323.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut CME Group from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Erste Group Bank lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on CME Group from $316.00 to $270.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $291.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.