CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Charles Schwab Trust Co

Charles Schwab Trust Co reduced its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 37.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,654 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Trust Co’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, United Community Bank purchased a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Down 1.6%

CME stock opened at $277.88 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $271.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $252.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $290.79. The firm has a market cap of $100.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for 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%. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. Research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America increased their target price on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $258.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. This represents a 12.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Larry G. Gerdes sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total transaction of $528,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,207,729.10. The trade was a 4.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,900 shares of company stock worth $6,147,935 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is 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.