CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Sells 22,794 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lowered its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,701,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 22,794 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises 0.8% of CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $459,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Caldwell Trust Co grew its position in shares of CME Group by 116.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new position in CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new position in CME Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.06.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $313.33 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $297.46 and its 200-day moving average is $279.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $112.99 billion, a PE ratio of 28.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.24. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $248.53 and a 12-month high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 46.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total value of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,248 shares of company stock valued at $1,616,700. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About CME Group

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.