Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. Sells 343 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. reduced its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 343 shares during the quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $4,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CME. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, United Community Bank bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $268.35 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $290.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $271.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $253.55. The stock has a market cap of $96.70 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James raised shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $258.20.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,686,980. This trade represents a 31.37% 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, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $81,951.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,765,601.39. This represents a 1.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,147,935. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About CME Group

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.