Eagle Ridge Investment Management Decreases Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Eagle Ridge Investment Management trimmed its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 692 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for approximately 1.4% of Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s holdings in CME Group were worth $14,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 966.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $187.00 target price (up from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Argus raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $217.80.

CME Group Stock Down 0.5 %

CME traded down $1.11 during trading on Monday, hitting $209.83. The stock had a trading volume of 631,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,774,098. The company has a market capitalization of $75.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 0.49. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.73 and a twelve month high of $223.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.83.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $1.15 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

CME Group Company 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.