DAVENPORT & Co LLC Decreases Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lessened its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 14.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,622 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,086 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $3,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised 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 worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised 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 worth $934,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berry Wealth Group LP raised its holdings in CME Group by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Berry Wealth Group LP now owns 13,561 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,598,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock traded down $1.00 on Friday, reaching $274.83. 1,234,017 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,194,406. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.17 and a 52 week high of $290.79. The company has a 50 day moving average of $276.40 and a 200 day moving average of $257.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.04 billion, a PE ratio of 27.65, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.71% and a return on equity of 14.03%. The firm 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 firm earned $2.50 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on CME shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. 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 research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $259.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William R. Shepard bought 256 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $270.53 per share, for a total transaction of $69,255.68. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 258,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,849,763.88. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 6,708 shares in the company, valued at $1,861,470. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,400 shares of company stock worth $3,680,610. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.