Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Trims Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lowered its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,563 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in CME Group were worth $35,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 50.0% during 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. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Erste Group Bank raised CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on CME Group from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $256.80.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at $5,686,980. This trade represents a 31.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total transaction of $817,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,824. The trade was a 35.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,384 shares of company stock valued at $7,531,053. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $284.36. 1,792,736 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,190,079. The stock has a market cap of $102.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $286.48. The stock's fifty day moving average is $268.20 and its 200 day moving average is $249.76.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. Equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.