Pacer Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 35.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,037 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,020 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $6,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 122.2% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 612.5% during 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 during the period. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total value of $141,210.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,668 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,916.56. The trade was a 12.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,400 shares of company stock worth $3,152,410. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $261.93.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $279.55 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $100.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 4.96 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $276.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $262.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.