Scharf Investments LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Scharf Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 442,178 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,644 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for approximately 3.6% of Scharf Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Scharf Investments LLC owned 0.12% of CME Group worth $117,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in CME Group by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 86,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,190,000 after purchasing an additional 19,533 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 4,314 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in CME Group by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Finally, Townsend & Associates Inc grew its position in CME Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 77,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,571 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total value of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,300,215. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total value of $108,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 6,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,861,470. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,400 shares of company stock worth $3,680,610. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $282.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Three 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $258.20.

CME Group Trading Up 0.7%

CME Group stock opened at $273.99 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $274.17 and a 200 day moving average of $255.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.45. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $192.11 and a 12-month high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 57.71%. The firm's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

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