CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by GDS Wealth Management

GDS Wealth Management trimmed its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 86 shares during the period. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in CME Group were worth $803,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Townsend & Associates Inc grew its position in CME Group by 63.0% during the 4th quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 69,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,288,000 after purchasing an additional 27,041 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its position in CME Group by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 681,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,501,000 after purchasing an additional 17,744 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 39,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,254,000 after acquiring an additional 8,717 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 67,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,229,000 after acquiring an additional 4,874 shares during the period. Finally, Hyman Charles D acquired a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $243,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 target price (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $198.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $217.80.

CME Group Trading Up 0.8 %

CME traded up $1.77 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $213.61. 1,983,480 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,788,192. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $213.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.42. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.73 and a 1-year high of $223.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $76.90 billion, a PE ratio of 24.30, a PEG ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 0.48.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total value of $1,501,899.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,256 shares in the company, valued at $6,153,999.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total value of $1,501,899.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,256 shares in the company, valued at $6,153,999.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.