Scharf Investments LLC Sells 8,644 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Scharf Investments LLC trimmed its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 442,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,644 shares during the period. CME Group comprises 3.6% of Scharf Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Scharf Investments LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $117,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, United Community Bank purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Larry G. Gerdes sold 2,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total value of $528,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,651 shares in the company, valued at $10,207,729.10. This trade represents a 4.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.28, for a total transaction of $271,280.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $790,781.20. This represents a 25.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,400 shares of company stock worth $3,680,610 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ CME opened at $273.99 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $98.74 billion, a PE ratio of 27.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $274.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $255.58. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $192.11 and a 52 week high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.71% and a return on equity of 14.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $258.20.

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.