Avanza Fonder AB Sells 4,014 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Avanza Fonder AB trimmed its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 15.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,014 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in CME Group were worth $5,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 108.7% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,390 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,949,000 after buying an additional 6,453 shares during the period. Unified Investment Management acquired a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $503,000. Aspire Growth Partners LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $548,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,169,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $503,939,000 after acquiring an additional 343,498 shares during the period. Finally, Sentinel Trust Co. LBA acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $368,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,686,980. This trade represents a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total value of $132,675.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,300,215. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,400 shares of company stock valued at $6,280,610 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock traded up $0.86 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $266.96. 1,075,289 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,190,214. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $290.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $96.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.59, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $271.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $253.64.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on CME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James raised shares of CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $282.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $258.20.

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.