CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Holdings Lifted by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in CME Group Inc. by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, acquiring an additional 33,336 shares, bringing its total holdings to 2,081,023 shares valued at approximately $552 million.
• Analysts have varying opinions on CME Group, with four rating it as a sell, nine as a hold, and four as a buy, leading to a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target of $261.93.
• CME Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, equating to a 1.8% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 48.40%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,081,023 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 33,336 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.58% of CME Group worth $552,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,546,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,522 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $934,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total transaction of $294,552.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,108 shares in the company, valued at $863,651.04. This represents a 25.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total transaction of $108,225.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 6,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,861,470. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,750 shares of company stock worth $1,576,294. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays set a $298.00 target price on CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $261.93.

CME Group Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of CME traded down $9.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $276.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,263,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,339,881. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $99.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.44. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $275.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.48. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $204.16 and a 12-month high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.56 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group's payout ratio is 48.40%.

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.