Goldstone Financial Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Goldstone Financial Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 12.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 584 shares during the quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 1st quarter worth about $252,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,763,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $578,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 1st quarter worth about $1,585,000. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 12,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,374,000 after buying an additional 1,570 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $269.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.87, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $290.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $272.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $254.28.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS 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 return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.50 EPS. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Larry G. Gerdes sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total transaction of $528,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,207,729.10. The trade was a 4.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total value of $132,675.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,900 shares in the company, valued at $1,300,215. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,680,610. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CME. Barclays raised their price target on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Raymond James raised CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $258.20.

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.