UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 97,324 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC cut its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,700,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 97,324 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.75% of CME Group worth $596,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 2,075.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID lifted its position in CME Group by 191.9% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Group LTD purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

CME opened at $285.80 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $218.31 and a 52-week high of $329.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.77 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $253.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $278.93.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%.The firm’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.11%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard bought 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the purchase, the director owned 260,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CME Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $316.00 to $323.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $288.56.

CME Group Company 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.