CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Insider Sells $1,752,536.39 in Stock

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total value of $1,752,536.39. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

CME Group Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of CME stock opened at $289.29 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $257.17 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business’s 50 day moving average is $296.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.10. The company has a market cap of $104.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.23.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The business’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.26 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 44.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on CME Group from $275.00 to $267.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on CME Group in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $305.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in CME Group by 2,075.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.