CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Position Lowered by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC reduced its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 28.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 947,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 368,452 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up about 1.1% of Rathbones Group PLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Rathbones Group PLC owned approximately 0.26% of CME Group worth $219,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,107,389,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $871,063,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in CME Group by 70.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $544,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 69.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $565,671,000 after buying an additional 996,498 shares during the period. Finally, Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $223,967,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Down 5.2 %

CME Group stock opened at $254.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $91.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.31, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $252.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $237.46. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $273.42.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. On average, analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 51.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $241.53.

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.