Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. Sells 61,798 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lessened its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 613,444 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 61,798 shares during the period. CME Group comprises 1.4% of Burgundy Asset Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.17% of CME Group worth $142,460,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,243,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,952,273,000 after purchasing an additional 326,623 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,389,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,946,717,000 after purchasing an additional 104,697 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in CME Group by 89.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,923,047,000 after purchasing an additional 3,921,278 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $1,107,389,000. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its stake in CME Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,081,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $947,821,000 after purchasing an additional 61,908 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.61, for a total transaction of $1,304,836.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,339,164.96. This trade represents a 35.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,384 shares of company stock worth $7,531,053. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of CME stock traded up $0.29 on Tuesday, reaching $284.36. 1,665,066 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,189,569. The company has a market cap of $102.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.41, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $268.20 and a 200-day moving average of $249.76. 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 one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $286.48.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 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 firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CME. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $256.80.

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.