CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. by 1.2%, owning approximately 0.15% of the company, valued at $138.63 million after selling 6,424 shares.
• CME Group reported a 10.4% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, reaching $1.69 billion, and earnings per share of $2.96, surpassing estimates.
• The company announced a $1.25 quarterly dividend, yielding 1.79%, with a payout ratio of 48.40% and an annualized dividend of $5.00.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank decreased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 522,576 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,424 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.15% of CME Group worth $138,634,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of CME Group by 89.9% during the 4th 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 32,941.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,858,887 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $493,144,000 after acquiring an additional 1,853,261 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,366,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $781,869,000 after acquiring an additional 939,679 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in CME Group by 4,216.2% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 922,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $214,301,000 after buying an additional 901,425 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,416,361 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $793,382,000 after purchasing an additional 819,158 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Erste Group Bank lowered CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment 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. According to MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $261.93.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total value of $108,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total value of $141,210.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. This represents a 12.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,881,130 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 1.0%

CME traded up $2.72 on Wednesday, reaching $277.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 418,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,368,729. The stock has a market cap of $99.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.25 and a 1 year high of $290.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business's 50 day moving average is $276.29 and its 200 day moving average is $263.11.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

About CME Group

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.