CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Diversified Trust Co.

Diversified Trust Co. reduced its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 78.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,594 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Caldwell Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 116.3% during the third quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in CME Group by 1,250.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sagard Holdings Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of CME opened at $293.78 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $248.53 and a fifty-two week high of $329.16. The company’s fifty day moving average is $302.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.72. The firm has a market cap of $105.36 billion, a PE ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard bought 251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the transaction, the director owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,999 shares in the company, valued at $7,647,194.10. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,539 shares of company stock worth $2,713,821. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on CME Group from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on CME Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on CME Group from $302.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.06.

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.