Townsend & Associates Inc cut its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,028 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,129 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for about 1.9% of Townsend & Associates Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Townsend & Associates Inc's holdings in CME Group were worth $18,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in CME Group by 29.0% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 9,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,100,000 after buying an additional 831 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,971 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,477,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in CME Group by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Transactions at CME Group
In related news, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.61, for a total value of $1,304,836.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,336 shares in the company, valued at $2,339,164.96. This trade represents a 35.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 256 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $270.53 per share, for a total transaction of $69,255.68. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 258,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,849,763.88. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,680,610 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $282.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. Raymond James Financial upgraded CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $258.20.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on CME Group
CME Group Price Performance
Shares of CME opened at $274.76 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $99.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.17 and a 52-week high of $290.79. The business's 50 day moving average price is $275.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $256.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.
CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.71% and a return on equity of 14.03%. CME Group's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.
CME Group Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.
CME Group Company Profile
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Free Report)
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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