CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lessened its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 11.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 639,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 81,558 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned about 0.18% of CME Group worth $172,812,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 1.8% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 25,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,659,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in CME Group in the first quarter worth about $915,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 0.7% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,227,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 10.5% in the first quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 29,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,928,000 after buying an additional 2,851 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on CME Group from $264.00 to $263.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Argus decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of CME Group from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $290.82.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $275.06 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.19 billion, a PE ratio of 26.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.27. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $224.62 and a 1-year high of $290.79. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $273.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.07.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 48.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total value of $263,530.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $287,511.23. This trade represents a 47.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 251 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CME Group Profile

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.