Paradigm Financial Partners LLC Decreases Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Paradigm Financial Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 316 shares during the period. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 31.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,858,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $972,863,000 after buying an additional 1,163,103 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $113,772,000. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $86,424,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 31.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,605,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $321,395,000 after purchasing an additional 386,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 6.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,465,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $693,847,000 after buying an additional 217,101 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of CME Group stock traded down $1.60 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $210.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,353,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,722,282. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.73 and a fifty-two week high of $223.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $214.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.87. The firm has a market cap of $75.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 0.49.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. 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 previous year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Argus upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $217.80.

CME Group Company 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.