CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Embree Financial Group

Embree Financial Group reduced its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,919 shares during the period. CME Group comprises about 1.5% of Embree Financial Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Embree Financial Group’s holdings in CME Group were worth $12,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Caldwell Trust Co increased its holdings in CME Group by 116.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 1,250.0% during the 4th 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, Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total value of $1,300,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,317,117.55. This represents a 8.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total value of $1,097,120.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,597.04. The trade was a 31.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 8,539 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,821 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. Barclays upped their target price on CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.06.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $293.78 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $248.53 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.36 billion, a PE ratio of 26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $302.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $281.88.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

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.