Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 2,453 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado cut its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,453 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in CME Group were worth $11,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Gold Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 966.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the first quarter worth $41,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of CME opened at $198.92 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $71.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $199.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $207.08. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CME. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $212.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Terry L. Savage sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.65, for a total value of $526,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,673,946.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other CME Group news, Director Terry L. Savage sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.65, for a total transaction of $526,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,673,946.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total transaction of $1,501,899.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,256 shares in the company, valued at $6,153,999.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,290 shares of company stock valued at $2,957,300 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.