Madison Asset Management LLC Sells 16,501 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Madison Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 15.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,279 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,501 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $23,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 122.2% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake 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. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 612.5% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on CME Group from $299.00 to $298.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $261.93.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the business'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 in the company, valued at approximately $863,651.04. The trade was a 25.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.28, for a total transaction of $271,280.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $790,781.20. This trade represents a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,400 shares of company stock worth $3,152,410. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $2.37 during trading on Friday, reaching $279.55. 1,834,736 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,117,443. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $276.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $262.25. The firm has a market cap of $100.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.85 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 quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. CME Group's payout ratio is 48.40%.

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.