Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC Decreases Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 139 shares during the quarter. Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $9,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 966.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 1,233.3% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $187.00 price objective (up from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $198.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $217.80.

CME Group Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of CME traded up $1.13 on Wednesday, hitting $211.48. 1,332,983 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,763,710. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.93, a P/E/G ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $212.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.33. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.73 and a 1 year high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.52, for a total value of $211,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,858,336.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total transaction of $1,501,899.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,153,999.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now directly owns 18,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,858,336.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,640 shares of company stock valued at $10,676,444 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.