Vise Technologies Inc. Boosts Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 30.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,317 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1,250.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 191.9% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 197.4% during the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on CME shares. TD Cowen reduced their price target on CME Group from $340.00 to $323.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $340.00 to $316.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $343.00 to $316.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $305.29.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,297,507. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of CME opened at $257.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $93.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.21. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $244.56 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $288.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. CME Group’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.37%.

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.