Wealthspire Advisors LLC Trims Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,961 shares during the quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $34,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in CME Group by 4.7% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 2,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.6% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 15,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,051,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its holdings in CME Group by 2.7% during the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 73,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,762,000 after acquiring an additional 1,948 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc raised its position in CME Group by 41.4% in the third quarter. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc now owns 18,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,638,000 after acquiring an additional 5,319 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.8 %

CME stock traded up $1.77 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $213.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,983,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,788,192. The firm has a market cap of $76.90 billion, a PE ratio of 24.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.73 and a 12-month high of $223.80. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $213.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.42.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total value of $1,501,899.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,256 shares in the company, valued at $6,153,999.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was 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 directly owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total value of $1,501,899.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,153,999.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CME. Barclays upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America boosted their target price on CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $217.80.

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.