KBC Group NV Has $22.35 Million Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

KBC Group NV lessened its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,229 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,647 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in CME Group were worth $22,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in CME Group in the 1st quarter worth $377,000. Unified Investment Management purchased a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $503,000. Aspire Growth Partners LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $548,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in CME Group by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 43,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 63.0% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 105,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,867,000 after purchasing an additional 40,592 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total transaction of $132,675.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,300,215. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 3,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $863,651.04. This trade represents a 25.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,680,610. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective 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 raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $258.20.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded down $4.00 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $271.42. 442,442 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,202,031. The company has a market cap of $97.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.33, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $275.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $257.22. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.17 and a 52 week high of $290.79. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.30%.

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.