Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Sells 9,759 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG trimmed its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,759 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in CME Group were worth $17,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,307,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,539,618,000 after acquiring an additional 130,698 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,812,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,300,450,000 after purchasing an additional 130,848 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,006,932,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,381,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $913,548,000 after purchasing an additional 20,213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,830,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $764,725,000 after purchasing an additional 528,358 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $296.94 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $106.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.26. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $248.53 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $303.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $282.46.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $302.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $333.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.06.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,539 shares of company stock worth $2,713,821. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.