Banque Pictet & Cie SA Sells 2,082 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA reduced its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,082 shares during the quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings in CME Group were worth $17,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in CME Group in the first quarter worth about $377,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 256.9% in the 1st quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $971,000 after purchasing an additional 2,636 shares in the last quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $548,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in CME Group by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 43,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 63.0% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 105,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,867,000 after buying an additional 40,592 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Down 3.4%

NASDAQ:CME opened at $273.06 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $276.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $258.61. The company has a market capitalization of $98.40 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.17 and a 52-week high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 57.71%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.30%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Bank of America upped their target price on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays upped their target price on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded CME Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $259.87.

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.