Archford Capital Strategies LLC Sells 2,159 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Archford Capital Strategies LLC reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 34.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,035 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,159 shares during the period. Archford Capital Strategies LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $1,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 108.7% during 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 last quarter. Unified Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $503,000. Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter valued at about $377,000. Aspire Growth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $548,000. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.4% during the first quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 43,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,443,000 after buying an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME stock traded up $1.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $274.76. The company had a trading volume of 2,681,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,208,080. The firm has a market cap of $99.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.17 and a 12 month high of $290.79. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $275.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $256.83.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 57.71% and a return on equity of 14.03%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $282.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $258.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total transaction of $817,680.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,471,824. This represents a 35.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 256 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $270.53 per share, for a total transaction of $69,255.68. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 258,196 shares in the company, valued at $69,849,763.88. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,680,610 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.