CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Holdings Cut by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Key Points

• Moors & Cabot Inc. reduced its holdings in CME Group Inc. by 5.0%, selling 1,366 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 26,123 shares valued at $6,930,000.
• Analysts have varied opinions on CME Group, with Oppenheimer raising the price target to $303.00 but Wall Street Zen downgrading it to "sell", reflecting a mixed sentiment in the market.
• CME Group recently reported $2.96 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and marking a year-over-year revenue increase of 10.4%.

Moors & Cabot Inc. cut its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,123 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,366 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $6,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CME. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in CME Group by 89.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 32,941.0% during the first 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 during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 901,425 shares during the period. Egerton Capital UK LLP increased its position in shares of CME Group by 79.4% during the first quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP now owns 1,730,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $459,003,000 after acquiring an additional 765,773 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of CME Group by 29.9% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,818,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $747,744,000 after acquiring an additional 648,591 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total transaction of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,300,215. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total transaction of $294,552.80. Following the completion of 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 quarter, insiders have sold 10,400 shares of company stock worth $2,881,130. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays set a $298.00 target price on CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $261.93.

CME Group Stock Up 0.9%

CME stock traded up $2.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $280.76. The stock had a trading volume of 3,011,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,073,115. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.62 and a 1-year high of $290.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $101.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18, a PEG ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $276.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $264.14.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

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.