Sebold Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Sebold Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. Sebold Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $250,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 5.0% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 3.4% in the second quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 1.7% in the third quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 3.9% in the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in CME Group by 0.3% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME opened at $215.60 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $211.90 and its 200-day moving average is $210.82. The stock has a market cap of $77.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.73 and a twelve month high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.10. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 57.83%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CME shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Argus lifted their price target on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $217.30.

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.