CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Phillips Wealth Planners LLC

Phillips Wealth Planners LLC cut its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $547,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in CME Group during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $273.03 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $98.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $274.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.04. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $192.11 and a 1-year high of $290.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 57.71%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 50.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CME. Oppenheimer raised their target price on CME Group from $282.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America increased their price target on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $258.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.28, for a total transaction of $271,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $790,781.20. This trade represents a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of CME Group 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. The trade was a 12.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,400 shares of company stock worth $3,680,610. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.