CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Position Trimmed by SlateStone Wealth LLC

SlateStone Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 1.7% during the third quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 3.9% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. West Michigan Advisors LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 0.9% during the third quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 6,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $899,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:CME traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $215.84. The company had a trading volume of 1,049,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,766,726. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.73 and a fifty-two week high of $223.80. The business’s fifty day moving average is $214.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $77.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.29, a P/E/G ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 0.49.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 57.83%. CME Group’s revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.92 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $229.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on CME Group from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.70.

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.