Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 344 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $4,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CME. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 206.9% during the second quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 122.2% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 84.3% during the second quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 612.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CME. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of CME Group from $309.00 to $307.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of CME Group from $313.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $284.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total transaction of $98,475.57. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,470,463.64. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.47, for a total transaction of $3,229,407.12. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 17,440 shares in the company, valued at $4,734,436.80. The trade was a 40.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 13,043 shares of company stock worth $3,527,956 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $265.49 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $213.94 and a twelve month high of $290.79. The company’s 50 day moving average is $265.83 and its 200 day moving average is $272.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $95.68 billion, a PE ratio of 25.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.41.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 48.45%.

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.