CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd

Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,352 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up about 4.7% of Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in CME Group were worth $10,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in CME Group by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter worth $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in CME Group by 1,250.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID raised its position in CME Group by 191.9% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total transaction of $1,097,120.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. This trade represents a 31.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total transaction of $1,300,530.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 43,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,317,117.55. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,791 shares of company stock worth $2,489,421. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $281.25 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $301.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.27. The firm has a market cap of $101.91 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.23. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $257.17 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.26 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on CME. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. 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. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.29.

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.