CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Jump Financial LLC

Jump Financial LLC decreased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 48.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 34,389 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 32,459 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $7,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Morgan Stanley raised its position in CME Group by 31.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,858,967 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $972,863,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,103 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,029,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $806,841,000 after acquiring an additional 70,588 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in CME Group by 4.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,668,138 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $734,435,000 after acquiring an additional 172,264 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in CME Group by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,579,057 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $716,604,000 after purchasing an additional 125,263 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in CME Group by 6.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,465,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $693,847,000 after buying an additional 217,101 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus upped their price objective on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $187.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $198.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $217.80.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME traded down $5.15 on Friday, reaching $208.46. 1,838,846 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,817,135. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company's 50-day moving average price is $213.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.72, a PEG ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.48. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.73 and a fifty-two week high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.33%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total transaction of $8,436,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,226,934.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total transaction of $8,436,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total transaction of $1,501,899.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,256 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,153,999.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.