First National Trust Co Sells 2,152 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

First National Trust Co lessened its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,152 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in CME Group were worth $4,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 31.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,858,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $972,863,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163,103 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,029,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $806,841,000 after buying an additional 70,588 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of CME Group by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,668,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $734,435,000 after buying an additional 172,264 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.6% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,579,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $716,604,000 after buying an additional 125,263 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 6.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,465,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $693,847,000 after acquiring an additional 217,101 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $207.65. The company had a trading volume of 2,065,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,765,130. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $175.73 and a 12 month high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total transaction of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $187.00 target price (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays upped their price target on CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $217.80.

CME Group Company 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.