Magellan Asset Management Ltd Trims Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 90.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,682 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in CME Group were worth $387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CME. Second Half Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,737,000. Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $1,823,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $1,074,000. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in CME Group by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.52, for a total transaction of $211,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,241 shares in the company, valued at $3,858,336.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,640 shares of company stock valued at $10,676,444. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CME. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price target (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $217.80.

CME Group Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of CME stock traded down $3.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $200.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,410,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,810,058. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.04 and a 12-month high of $223.80. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $210.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.86.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.33%.

CME Group 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.