Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 35,695 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,895,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 35,695 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.53% of CME Group worth $399,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CME. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in CME Group by 31.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,858,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $972,863,000 after buying an additional 1,163,103 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,029,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $806,841,000 after purchasing an additional 70,588 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in CME Group by 4.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,668,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $734,435,000 after purchasing an additional 172,264 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 3.6% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,579,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $716,604,000 after purchasing an additional 125,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in CME Group by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,465,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $693,847,000 after purchasing an additional 217,101 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total transaction of $8,436,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at $14,226,934.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.6 %

CME stock traded up $1.35 on Wednesday, hitting $209.69. 755,773 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,775,169. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $213.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.73 and a 12-month high of $223.80. The stock has a market cap of $75.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 0.48.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. CME Group’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.15 dividend. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “sell” rating and issued a $187.00 price target (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $217.80.

About CME Group

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.