Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Sells 1,027 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lowered its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 12.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,986 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,027 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of CME. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, United Community Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CME. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America upped their price objective on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $258.20.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CME traded up $1.31 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $270.96. 2,189,659 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,199,499. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $272.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $97.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.02, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total value of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,300,215. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of CME Group 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 sale, the general counsel now directly owns 6,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,861,470. This trade represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,400 shares of company stock worth $3,680,610 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.